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POPULAR  TECHNOLOGY 

OR, 

PROFESSIONS  AND  TRADES. 


BY  EDWARD  HAZEN,  A.  M., 

AUTHOR  OF 

“THE  SYMBOLICAL  SPELLING-BOOK,”  “THE  SPELLER  AND 
DEFINER,”  AND  “A  PRACTICAL  GRAMMAR.” 

EMBELLISHED  WITH  EIGHTY-ONK  ENGRAVINGS. 

IN  TWO  VOLUMES. 

VOL.  I. 

NEW-YORK: 

HARPER  AND  BROTHERS,  82  CLIFF-ST. 


184  2, 


Co  /o  S 
T 
7  7 

77  a 

I? 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1841,  by 
Harper  &  Brothers, 

in  the  Clerk’s  Office  of  the  Southern  District  of  New-York. 


THE  GETTV  CtMcrt 
LIBRARY 


CONTENTS 


OF 

THE  FIRST  VOLUME. 


Page 

Preface . 7 

The  Agriculturist . 13 

The  Horticulturist  .  .  . . *  28 

The  Miller . 34 

The  Baker . 39 

The  Confectioner . 44 

The  Brewer,  and  the  Distiller . 47 

The  Butcher . 55 

The  Tobacco  Planter,  and  the  Tobacconist  .  .  .59 

The  Manufacturer  of  Cloth . 66 

The  Dyer,  and  the  Calico-Printer . 77 

The  Hatter . 84 

The  Rope-Maker . 91 

The  Tailor  .  . 96 

The  Milliner,  and  the  Lady’s  Dress-Maker  ....  100 

The  Barber . 104 

The  Tanner,  and  the  Currier . Ill 

The  Shoe  and  Boot  Maker . 116 

The  Saddler  and  Harness-Maker,  and  the  Trunk-Maker  .  .  121 

The  Soapboiler,  and  the  Candle-Maker . 125 

The  Comb-Maker,  and  the  Brush-Maker . 134 

The  Tavern-Keeper . 142 

The  Hunter  . . 147 

The  Fisherman . 154 

The  Shipwright . 171 

The  Mariner . 178 

The  Merchant . 187 

The  Auctioneer  .  . 204 

The  Clergyman . 208 

The  Attorney  at  Law . 215 

The  Physician . 221 

The  Chemist . ' ' . 229 

The  Druggist  and  Apothecary . 236 

The  Dentist  .  240 

The  Teacher  .  249 


I 


PREFACE. 


The  following  work  has  been  written  for  the  use 
of  schools  and  families,  as  well  as  for  miscellaneous 
readers.  It  embraces  a  class  of  subjects  in  which  ev¬ 
ery  individual  is  deeply  interested,  and  with  which,  as 
a  mere  philosophical  inspector,  of  the  affairs  of  men, 
he  should  become  acquainted. 

They,  however,  challenge  attention  by  considera¬ 
tions  of  greater  moment  than  mere  curiosity ;  for,  in 
the  present  age,  a  great  proportion  of  mankind  pur¬ 
sue  some  kind  of  business  as  means  of  subsistence  or 
distinction  ;  and  in  this  country  especially,  such  pur¬ 
suit  is  deemed  honorable  and,  in  fact,  indispensable  to 
a  reputable  position  in  the  community. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  a  fact  that  cannot  have  escaped 
the  attention  of  persons  of  observation,  that  many  in¬ 
dividuals  mistake  their  appropriate  calling,  and  engage 
in  employments  for  which  they  have  neither  mental 
nor  physical  adaptation ;  some  learn  a  trade  who 
should  have  studied  a  profession  ;  others  study  a  pro¬ 
fession  who  should  have  learned  a  trade.  Hence 
arise,  in  a  great  measure,  the  ill  success  and  discon¬ 
tent  which  so  frequently  attend  the  pursuits  of  men. 

For  these  reasons,  parents  should  be  particularly 
cautious  in  the  choice  of  permanent  employments  for 
their  children  ;  and,  in  every  case,  capacity  should  be 
especially  regarded,  without  paying  much  attention  to 
the  comparative  favor  in  which  the  several  employ¬ 
ments  may  be  held  ;  for  a  successful  prosecution  of  an 
humble  business  is  far  more  honorable  than  inferior¬ 
ity  or  failure  in  one  which  may  be  greatly  esteemed. 

To  determine  the  particular  genius  of  children,  pa¬ 
rents  should  give  them,  at  least,  a  superficial  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  several  trades  and  professions.  To  do 
this  effectually,  a  systematic  course  of  instruction 


PREFACE. 


vm 


should  be  given,  not  only  at  the  family  fireside  and  in 
[the  schoolroom,  but  also  at  places  where  practical  ex¬ 
hibitions  of  the  several  employments  may  be  seen. 
/These  means,  together  with  a  competent  literary  edu¬ 
cation,  and  some  tools  and  other  facilities  for  mechan¬ 
ical  operations,  can  scarcely  fail  of  furnishing  clear 
indications  of  intellectual  bias. 

The  course  just  proposed  is  not  only  necessary  to 
a  judicious  choice  of  a  trade  or  profession,  but  also  as 
means  of  intellectual  improvement;  and  as  such  it 
should  be  pursued,  at  all  events,  even  though  the 
choice  of  an  employment  were  not  in  view. 

We  are  endowed  with  a  nature  composed  of  many 
faculties  both  of  the  intellectual  and  the  animal  kinds, 
and  the  reasoning  faculties  were  originally  designed 
by  the  Creator  to  have  the  ascendency.  In  the  pres¬ 
ent  moral  condition  of  man,  however,  they  do  not 
commonly  maintain  their  right  of  precedence.  This 
failure  arises  from  imbecility,  originating,  in  part,  from 
a  deficiency  in  judicious  cultivation,  and  from  the  su¬ 
perior  strength  of  the  passions. 

This  condition  is  particularly  conspicuous  in  youth, 
and  shows  itself  in  disobedience  to  parents,  and  in 
various  other  aberrations  from  moral  duty.  If,  there¬ 
fore,  parents  would  have  their  children  act  a  reasona¬ 
ble  part,  while  in  their  minority,  and,  also,  after  they 
have  assumed  their  stations  in  manhood,  they  must 
pursue  a  course  of  early  instruction,  calculated  to  se¬ 
cure  the  ascendency  of  the  reasoning  faculties. 

The  subjects  for  instruction  best  adapted  to  the  cul¬ 
tivation  of  the  young  mind  are  the  common  things  with 
which  we  are  surrounded.  This  is  evident  from  the 
fact,  that  it  uniformly  expands  with  great  rapidity  un¬ 
der  their  influence  during  the  first  three  or  four  years 
of  life  ;  for,  it  is  from  them,  children  obtain  all  their 
ideas,  as  well  as  a  knowledge  of  the  language  by 
which  they  are  expressed. 

The  rapid  progress  of  young  children  in  the  acqui 
sition  of  knowledge  often  excites  the  surprise  of  pa¬ 
rents  of  observation,  and  the  fact  that  their  improve¬ 
ment  is  almost  imperceptible,  after  they  have  attained 


PREFACE 


.v7;>  - 

. 

13 


to  the  age  of  four  or  five  years,  is  ecx 


y  surprising 


Why,  it  is  often  asked,  do  not  children  Continue  to  ad?- 
vance  in  knowledge  with  equal  and  increased  rapidity^ 
especially,  as  their  capabilities  increase  with  age? 

The  solution  of  this  question  is  not  difficult.  Chih 
dren  continue  to  improve,  while  they  have  the  means 
of  doing  so  ;  but,  having  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the 
objects  within  their  reach,  at  least,  so  far  as  they 
may  be  capable  at  the  time,  their  advancement  must 
consequently  cease.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  re¬ 
mark,  that  the  march  of  mind  might  be  continued 
with  increased  celerity,  were  new  objects  or  subjects 
continually  presented. 

In  supplying  subjects  for  mental  improvement,  as 
they  may  be  needed  at  the  several  stages  of  advance¬ 
ment,  there  can  be  but  little  difficulty,  since  we  are 
surrounded  by  works  both  of  nature  and  of  art.  In 
fact,  the  same  subjects  may  be  presented  several 
times,  and,  at  each  presentation,  instructions  might  be 
given  adapted  to  the  particular  state  of  improvement 
in  the  pupil. 

Instructions  of  this  nature  need  never  interfere  in¬ 
juriously  with  those  on  the  elementary  branches  of 
education,  although  the  latter  would  undoubtedly  be 
considered  of  minor  importance.  Had  they  been  al¬ 
ways  regarded  in  this  light,  our  schools  would  now 
present  a  far  more  favorable  aspect,  and  we  should 
have  been  farther  removed  from  the  ignora  ce  and  the 
barbarism  of  the  middle  ages. 

Were  this  view  of  education  generally  adopted, 
teachers  would  soon  find,  that  the  business  of  commu¬ 
nicating  instructions  to  the  young  has  been  changed 
from  an  irksome  to  a  pleasant  task,  since  their  pupils 
will  have  become  studious  and  intellectual,  and,  con¬ 
sequently,  more  capable  of  comprehending  explana¬ 
tions  upon  every  subject.  Such  a  course  would  also 
be  attended  with  the  incidental  advantage  of  good 
conduct  on  the  part  of  pupils,  inasmuch  as  the  eleva¬ 
tion  of  the  understanding  over  the  passions  uniformly 
tends  to  this  result. 

For  carrying  into  practice  a  system  of  intellectual 


PREFACE. 


pcprjjhe  following  work  supplies  as  great  an 
yfflm  ormaterials  as  can  be  embodied  in  the  same 
Boftnpass.  Every  article  may  be  made  the  foundation 
Sof  one  lecture  or  more,  which  might  have  reference 
foot  only  to  the  particular  subject  on  which  it  treats, 
but  also  to  the  meaning  and  application  of  the  words. 

The  articles  have  been  concisely  written,  as  must 
necessarily  be  the  case  in  all  works  embracing  so 
great  a  variety  of  subjects.  This*  particular  trait, 
however,  need  not  be  considered  objectionable,  since 
all  who  may  desire  to  read  more  extensively  on  any 
particular  subject,  can  easily  obtain  works  which  are 
exclusively  devoted  to  it. 

•  Prolix  descriptions  of  machinery  and  of  mechani¬ 
cal  operations  have  been  studiously  avoided ;  for  it 
has  been  presumed,  that  all  who  might  have  perseve¬ 
rance  enough  to  read  such  details,  would  feel  curiosi¬ 
ty  sufficient  to  visit  the  shops  and  manufactories,  and 
see  the  machines  and  operations  themselves.  Never¬ 
theless,  enough  has  been  said,  in  all  cases,  to  give  a 
general  idea  of  the  business,  and  to  guide  in  the  re¬ 
searches  of  those  who  may  wish  to  obtain  informa¬ 
tion  by  the  impressive  method  of  actual  inspection. 

A  great  proportion  of  the  whole  work  is  occupied 
in  recounting  historical  facts,  connected  with  the  in¬ 
vention  and  progress  of  the  arts.  The  author  was  in¬ 
duced  to  pay  especial  attention  to  this  branch  of  his¬ 
tory,  from  the  consideration,  that  it  furnishes  very 
clear  indications  of  the  real  state  of  society  in  past 
ages,  as  well  as  at  the  present  time,  and  also  that  it 
would  supply  the  reader  with  data,  by  which  he  might, 
in  some  measure,  determine  the  vast  capabilities  of 
man. 

This  kind  of  historical  information  will  be  especial¬ 
ly  beneficial  to  the  youthful  mind,  by  inducing  a  habit 
of  investigation  and  antiquarian  research,  in  addi¬ 
tion  to  this,  a  knowledge  of  the  origin  and  progress 
of  the  various  employments  which  are  in  active  oper¬ 
ation  all  around,  will  throw  upon  the  busy  world  an 
aspect  exceedingly  interesting. 

It  may  be  well,  however,  to  caution  the  reader 


PREFACE. 


against  expecting  too  much  information  otirfJi|jJ 
in  regard  to  most  of  the  trades  practised  in  ver3!ln[ 
cient  times.  Many  of  the  most  useful  invention^ 
were  effected,  before  any  permanent  means  of  record 
had  been  devised ;  and,  in  after  ages,  among  the  Greeks 
and  Romans,  the  useful  arts  were  practised  almost 
exclusively  by  slaves.  The  latter  circumstance  led 
to  their  general  neglect  by  the  writers  among  these 
distinguished  people. 

The  information  which  may  be  obtained  from  this 
work,  especially  when  accompanied  by  the  inspection 
of  the  operations  which  it  describes,  may  be  daily  ap¬ 
plied  to  some  useful  purpose.  It  will  be  particularly 
valuable  in  furnishing  subjects  for  conversation,  and  in 
preventing  the  mind  from  continuing  in,  or  from  sinking 
into,  a  state  of  indifference  in  regard  to  the  busy  scenes 
of  this  world. 

In  the  composition  of  this  work,  all  puerile  expres¬ 
sions  have  been  avoided,  not  only  because  they  would 
be  offensive  to  adult  individuals  of  taste,  but  because 
they  are  at  least  useless,  if  not  positively  injurious,  to 
younger  persons.  What  parent  of  reflection  would 
suffer  his  children  to  peruse  a  book  calculated  to  in¬ 
duce  or  confirm  a  manner  of  speaking  or  writing, 
which  he  would  not  have  them  use  after  having  arri¬ 
ved  to  manhood  ?  Every  sentence  may  be  rendered 
perfectly  plain  by  appropriate  explanations  and  illus¬ 
trations. 

No  formal  classification  of  the  professions  and 
trades  has  been  adopted,  although  those  articles  which 
treat  of  kindred  subjects  have  been  placed  near  each 
other,  and  in  that  order  which  seemed  to  be  the  most 
natural.  The  paragraphs  of  the  several  articles  have 
been  numbered  for  the  especial  accommodation  of 
classes  in  schools,  but  this  particular  feature  of  the 
work  need  meet  with  no  serious  objection  from  mis¬ 
cellaneous  readers,  as  it  has  no  other  effect,  in  refer¬ 
ence  to  its  use  by  them,  than  to  give  it  the  aspect  of 
a  school-book. 

While  writing  the  articles  on  the  different  subjects, 
the  author  consulted  several  works  which  embraced 


PREFACE. 


Id  Sciences  generally,  as  well  as  many 
which  were-more  circumscribed  in  their  objects.  He, 

;  however,  relied  more  upon  them  for  historical  facts 
than  for  a  knowledge  of  the  operations  and  processes 
which  he  had  occasion  to  detail.  For  this  he  depend¬ 
ed,  as  far  as  practicable,  upon  his  own  personal  re¬ 
searches,  although  in  the  employment  of  appropriate 
phraseology,  he  acknowledges  his  obligations  to  pred¬ 
ecessors. 

With  the  preceding  remarks,  the  author  submits  his 
work  to  the  public,  in  the  confident  expectation,  that 
the  subjects  which  it  embraces,  that  the  care  which 
has  been  taken  in  its  composition,  and  that  the  skill 
of  the  artists  employed  in  its  embellishment,  will  se¬ 
cure  to  it  an  abundant  and  liberal  patronage. 


THE  AGRICULTURIST. 

1.  Agriculture  embraces,  in  its  broad  applica¬ 
tion,  whatever  relates  to  the  cultivation  of  the  fields, 
with  the  view  of  producing  food  for  man  and  those 
animals  which  he  may  have  brought  into  a  state  of 
domestication. 

2.  If  we  carry  our  observations  so  far  back  as  to 
reach  the  antediluvian  history  of  the  earth,  we  shall 
find,  from  the  authority  of  Scripture,  that  the  culti¬ 
vation  of  the  soil  was  the  first  employment  of  man, 
after  his  expulsion  from  the  garden  of  Eden,  when 
he  was  commanded  to  till  the  ground  from  which  he 
had  been  taken.  We  shall  also  learn  from  the  same 
source  of  information,  that  “  Cain  was  a  husbandman,” 
and  that  “Abel  was  a  keeper  of  sheep.”  Hence 
it  may  be  inferred,  that  Adam  instructed  his  sons 


THE  AGRICULTURIST. 

e^aH  of  husbandry  ;  and  that  they,  in  turn,  com. 
nicated  the  knowledge  to  their  posterity,  together 
th  the  superadded  information  which  had  resulted 
their  own  experience.  Improvement  in  this  art 
probably  thenceforth  progressive,  until  the  over¬ 
whelming  catastrophe  of  the  flood. 

3.  After  the  waters  had  retired  from  the  face  of 
the  earth,  Noah  resorted  to  husbandry,  as  the  cer¬ 
tain  means  of  procuring  the  necessaries  and  com¬ 
forts  of  life.  The  art  of  cultivating  the  soil  was  un¬ 
interruptedly  preserved  in  many  branches  of  the  great 
family  of  Noah ;  but,  in  others,  it  was  at  length 
entirely  lost.  In  the  latter  case,  the  people,  having 
sunk  into  a  state  of  barbarism,  depended  for  subsist¬ 
ence  on  the  natural  productions  of  the  earth,  and  on 
such  animals  as  they  could  contrive  to  capture  by 
hunting  and  fishing.  Many  of  these  degenerate  tribes 
did  not  emerge  from  this  condition  for  several  suc¬ 
ceeding  ages ;  while  others  have  not  done  so  to  the 
present  day. 

4.  Notwithstanding  the  great  antiquity  of  agricul¬ 
ture,  the  husbandmen,  for  several  centuries  immedi¬ 
ately  succeeding  the  deluge,  seem  to  have  been  but 
little  acquainted  with  any  proper  method  of  restoring 
fertility  to  exhausted  soils  ;  for  we  find  them  frequent¬ 
ly  changing  their  residence,  as  their  flocks  and  herds 
required  fresh  pasturage,  or  as  their  tillage  land  be¬ 
came  unproductive.  As  men,  however,  became  more 
numerous,  and  as  their  flocks  increased,  this  practice 
became  inconvenient  and,  in  some  cases,  impractica¬ 
ble.  They  were,  therefore,  compelled,  by  degrees,  to 
confine  their  flocks  and  herds,  and  their  farming  oper¬ 
ations,  to  lands  of  more  narrow  and  specified  limits. 

5.  The  Chaldeans  were  probably  the  people  who 
first  adopted  the  important  measure  of  retaining  per¬ 
petual  possession  of  the  soil  which  they  had  cultiva¬ 
ted  ;  and,  consequently,  were  among  the  first  who  be- 


THE  agriculturist;  !  5 

came  skilful  in  agriculture.  But  all  the  g¥earffl9 
tions  of  antiquity  held  this  art  in  the  highest  estimaS 
tion,  and  usually  attributed  its  invention  to  superhu* 
man  agency.  The  Egyptians  even  worshipped  thJS 
image  of  the  ox  in  gratitude  for  the  services  of  tne 
living  animal  in  the  labours  of  the  field. 

6.  The  reader  of  ancient  history  can  form  some 
idea  of  the  extent  to  which  this  art  was  cultivated  in 
those  days,  from  the  warlike  operations  of  different 
nations  ;  for,  from  no  other  source,  could  the  great 
armies  which  were  then  brought  into  the  field,  have 
been  supplied  with  the  necessary  provisions.  The 
Greeks  and  the  Romans,  who  were  more  celebrated 
than  any  other  people  for  their  military  enterprise, 
were  also  most  attentive  to  the  proper  cultivation  of 
the  soil ;  and  many  of  their  distinguished  men,  espe¬ 
cially  among  the  Romans,  were  practical  husbandmen. 

7.  Nor  was  agriculture  neglected  by  the  learned 
men  of  antiquity.  Several  works  on  this  subject,  by 
Greek  and  Latin  authors,  have  descended  to  our 
times  ;  and  the  correctness  of  many  of  the  principles 
which  they  inculcate,  has  been  confirmed  by  modern 
experience. 

8.  Throughout  the  extensive  empire  of  Rome,  ag¬ 
riculture  maintained  a  respectable  standing,  until  the 
commencement  of  those  formidable  invasions  of  the 
northern  hordes,  which,  finally,  nearly  extinguished 
the  arts  and  sciences  in  every  part  of  Europe.  Du¬ 
ring  the  long  period  of  anarchy  which  succeeded  the 
settlement  of  these  barbarians  in  their  newly-acquired 
possessions,  pasturage  was,  in  most  cases,  preferred 
to  tillage,  as  being  better  suited  to  their  state  of  civ¬ 
ilization,  and  as  affording  facilities  of  removal,  in  ca¬ 
ses  of  alarm  from  invading  enemies.  But,  when  per¬ 
manent  governments  had  been  again  established,  and 
when  the  nations  enjoyed  comparative  peace,  the  reg¬ 
ular  cultivation  of  the  soil  once  more  revived. 


16 


THE  AGRICULTURIST. 


jOJTbe  art  of  husbandry  was  at  a  low  ebb  in  Eng- 
Bfflulujnl  the  fourteenth  century,  when  it  began  to  be 
ifmrclsed  with  considerable  success  in  the  midland 
and  southwestern  parts  of  the  island  ;  yet,  it  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  cultivated  as  a  science,  until  the 
latter  end  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The  first  book 
on  husbandry,  printed  and  published  in  the  English 
language,  appeared  in  1534.  It  was  written  by  Sir 
A.  Fitzherbert,  a  judge  of  the  Common  Pleas,  who 
had  studied  the  laws  of  vegetation,  and  the  nature  of 
soils,  with  philosophical  accuracy. 

10.  Very  little  improvement  was  made  on  the  the¬ 
ory  of  this  author,  for  upwards  of  a  hundred  years, 
when  Sir  Hugh  Platt  discovered  and  brought  into  use 
several  kinds  of  substances  for  fertilizing  and  resto¬ 
ring  exhausted  soils. 

11.  Agriculture  again  received  a  new  impulse, 
about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  ;  and,  in 
1793,  a  Board  of  Agriculture  was  established  by  an 
act  of  Parliament,  at  the  suggestion  of  Sir  John  Sin¬ 
clair,  who  was  elected  its  first  president.  Through 
the  influence  of  this  board,  a  great  number  of  agri¬ 
cultural  societies  have  been  formed  in  the  kingdom, 
and  much  valuable  information  on  rural  economy  has 
been  communicated  to  the  public,  through  the  me¬ 
dium  of  a  voluminous  periodical  under  its  superin. 
tendence. 

12.  After  the  example  of  Great  Britain,  agricultu¬ 
ral  societies  have  been  formed,  and  periodical  jour¬ 
nals  published,  in  various  parts  of  the  continent  of 
Europe,  as  well  as  in  the  United  States.  The  prin¬ 
cipal  publications  devoted  to  this  subject  in  this  coun¬ 
try,  are  the  American  Farmer ,  at  Baltimore  ;  the  New - 
England  Farmer,  at  Boston  ;  and  the  Cultivator ,  at 
Albany. 

13.  The  modern  improvements  in  husbandry  con¬ 
sist,  principally,  in  the  proper  application  of  manures, 


THE  AGRICULTURIST. 


17 

in  the  mixture  of  different  kinds  of  earths,  inahgfensfil 
of  plaster  and  lime,  in  the  rotation  of  crops,  iixjggani  - 
ing  the  crop  to  the  soil,  in  the  introduction  ot'new 
kinds  of  grain,  roots,  grasses,  and  fruits,  as  well  as 
in  improvements  in  the  breeds  of  domestic  animals, 
and  in  the  implements  with  which  the  various  opera¬ 
tions  of  the  art  are  performed. 

14.  For  many  of  the  improved  processes  which  re¬ 
late  to  the  amelioration  of  the  soil,  we  are  indebted  to 
chemistry.  Before  this  science  was  brought  to  the 
aid  of  the  art,  the  cultivators  of  the  soil  were  chiefly 
guided  by  the  precept  and  example  of  their  predeces¬ 
sors,  which  were  often  inapplicable.  By  the  aid  of 
chemical  analysis,  it  is  easy  to  discover  the  constitu¬ 
ent  parts  of  different  soils  ;  and,  when  this  has  been 
done,  there  is  but  little  difficulty  in  determining  the 
best  mode  of  improving  them,  or  in  applying  the  most 
suitable  crops. 

15.  In  the  large  extent  of  territory  embraced  with¬ 
in  the  United  States,  there  is  great  variation  of  soil 
and  climate ;  but,  in  each  state,  or  district,  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  the  cultivators  is  directed  to  the  production  of 
those  articles  which,  under  the  circumstances,  prom¬ 
ise  to  be  the  most  profitable.  In  the  northern  por¬ 
tions  of  our  country,  the  cultivators  of  the  soil  are 
called  farmers.  They  direct  their  attention  chiefly 
to  the  production  of  wheat,  rye,  corn,  oats,  barley, 
peas,  beans,  potatoes,  pumpkins,  and  flax,  together 
with  grasses  and  fruits  of  various  kinds.  The  same 
class  of  men,  in  the  Southern  states,  are  usually  de¬ 
nominated  planters,  who  confine  themselves  princi¬ 
pally  to  tobacco,  rice,  cotton,  sugar-cane,  or  hemp. 
In  some  parts  of  that  portion  of  our  country,  however, 
rye,  wheat,  oats,  and  sweet  potatoes,  are  extensively 
cultivated  ;  and,  in  almost  every  part,  corn  is  a  fa¬ 
vourite  article. 

16.  The  process  of  cultivating  most  of  the  produc- 

B  2 


is 


THE  AGRICULTURIST. 


J|ons  which  have  been  mentioned,  is  nearly  the  same. 
(Tn  general,  with  the  occasional  exception  of  new  lands, 
[the  plough  is  used  to  prepare  the  .  ground  for  the  re- 
reeption  of  the  seed.  Wheat,  rye,  barley,  oats,  peas, 
^and  the  seeds  of  hemp  and  flax,  are  scattered  with  the 
hand,  and  covered  in  the  earth  with  the  harrow.  In 
Great  Britain,  such  seeds  are  sown  in  drills  ;  and  this 
method  is  thought  to  be  better  than  ours,  as  it  admits 
of  the  use  of  the  hoe,  while  the  vegetable  is  growing. 

17.  Corn,  beans,  potatoes,  and  pumpkins,  are  cov¬ 
ered  in  the  earth  with  the  hoe.  The  ground  is 
ploughed  several  times  during  the  summer,  to  make 
it  loose,  and  to  keep  down  the  weeds.  The  hoe  is 
also  used  in  accomplishing  the  same  objects,  and  in 
depositing  fresh  earth  around  the  growing  vegetable. 

18.  When  ripe,  wheat,  barley,  oats,  and  peas,  are 
cut  down  with  the  sickle,  cradle,  or  scythe  ;  while 
hemp  and  flax  are  pulled  up  by  the  roots.  The  seeds 
are  separated  from  the  other  parts  of  the  plants  with 
the  flail,  or  by  means  of  horses  or  oxen  driven  round 
upon  them.  Of  late,  threshing  machines  are  used  to 
effect  the  same  object.  Chaff,  and  extraneous  mat¬ 
ter  generally,  are  separated  from  the  grain,  or  seeds, 
by  means  of  a  fanning-mill,  or  with  a  large  fan  made 
of  the  twigs  of  the  willow.  The  same  thing  was  for¬ 
merly,  and  is  yet  sometimes,  effected  by  the  aid  of  a 
current  of  air. 

19.  When  the  corn,  or  maize,  has  become  ripe,  the 
ears,  with  the  husks,  and  sometimes  the  stalks,  are 
deposited  in  large  heaps.  To  assist  in  stripping  the 
husks  from  the  ears,  it  is  customary  to  call  together 
the  neighbours.  In  such  cases,  the  owner  of  the  corn 
provides  for  them  a  supper,  together  with  some  means 
of  merriment  and  good  cheer. 

20.  This  custom  is  most  prevalent,  where  the  great¬ 
er  part  of  the  labour  is  performed  by  slaves.  The 
blacks,  when  assembled  for  a  husking  match,  choose 


THE  AGRICULTURIST. 

a  captain,  whose  business  it  is  to  lead  the  song,  whil 
the  rest  join  in  chorus.  Sometimes,  they  divide  the 
corn  as  nearly  as  possible  into  two  equal  heaps,  an 
apportion  the  hands  accordingly,  with  a  captain 
each  division.  This  is  done  to  produce  a  contest 
the  most  speedy  execution  of  the  task.  Should  the 
owner  of  the  corn  be  sparing  of  his  refreshments,  his 
want  of  generosity  is  sure  to  be  published  in  song  at 
every  similar  frolic  in  the  neighborhood. 

21.  Maize,  or  Indian  corn,  and  potatoes  of  all  kinds, 
were  unknown  in  the  eastern  continent,  until  the  dis¬ 
covery  of  America.  Their  origin  is,  therefore,  known 
with  certainty;  but  some  of  the  other  productions 
which  have  been  mentioned,  cannot  be  so  satisfacto¬ 
rily  traced.  This  is  particularly  the  case  with  re¬ 
gard  to  those  which  have  been  extensively  cultivated 
for  many  centuries. 

22.  The  grasses  have  ever  been  valuable  to  man, 
as  affording  a  supply  of  food  for  domestic  animals. 
Many  portions  of  our  country  are  particularly  adapt- 
ed  to  grazing.  Where  this  is  the  case,  the  farmers 
usually  turn  their  attention  to  raising  live  stock,  and 
to  making  butter  and  cheese.  Grass  reserved  in 
meadows,  as  a  supply  of  food  for  the  winter,  is  cut  at 
maturity  with  a  scythe,  dried  in  the  sun,  and  stored  in 
barns,  or  heaped  in  stacks. 

23.  Rice  was  first  cultivated  in  the  eastern  parts  of 
Asia,  and,  from  the  earliest  ages,  has  been  the  prin¬ 
cipal  article  of  food  among  the  Chinese  and  Hindoos. 
To  this  grain  may  be  attributed,  in  a  great  measure, 
the  early  civilization  of  those  nations ;  and  its  adapt¬ 
ation  to  marshy  grounds  caused  many  districts  to  be¬ 
come  populous,  which  would  otherwise  have  remain¬ 
ed  irreclaimable  and  desolate. 

24.  Rice  was  long  known  in  the  east,  before  it  was 
introduced  into  Egypt  and  Greece,  whence  it  spread 
over  Africa  generally,  and  the  southern  parts  of  Eu- 


THE  AGRICULTURIST. 


r 

|v 

bo 

**W)pe.  It  is  now  cultivated  in  all  the  warm  parts  of 
Sthe  globe,  chiefly  on  grounds  subject  to  periodical  in¬ 
undations.  The  Chinese  obtain  two  crops  a  year 
from  the  same  ground,  and  cultivate  it  in  this  way 
frdm  generation  to  generation,  without  applying  any 
manure,  except  the  stubble  of  the  preceding  crop,  and 
the  mud  deposited  from  the  water  overflowing  it. 

25.  Soon  after  the  waters  of  the  inundation  have 
retired,  a  spot  is  inclosed  with  an  embankment,  light¬ 
ly  ploughed  and  harrowed,  and  then  sown  very  thick¬ 
ly  with  the  grain.  Immediately,  a  thin  sheet  of  water 
is  brought  over  it,  either  by  a  stream  or  some  hy¬ 
draulic  machinery.  When  the  plants  have  grown  to 
the  height  of  six  or  seven  inches,  they  are  transplant¬ 
ed  in  furrows  ;  and  again  water  is  brought  over  them, 
and  kept  on,  until  the  crop  begins  to  ripen,  when  it  is 
withheld. 

26.  The  crop  is  cut  with  a  sickle,  threshed  with  a 
flail,  or  by  the  treading  of  cattle ;  and  the  husks, 
which  adhere  closely  to  the  kernel,  are  beaten  off’  in 
a  stone  mortar,  or  by  passing  the  grain  through  a 
mill,  similar  to  our  corn-mills.  The  mode  of  culti¬ 
vating  rice  in  any  part  of  the  world,  varies  but  little 
from  the  foregoing  process.  The  point  which  re¬ 
quires  the  greatest  attention,  is  keeping  the  ground 
properly  covered  with  water. 

27.  Rice  was  introduced  into  the  Carolinas  in  1697, 
where  it  is  now  produced  in  greater  perfection  than 
in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  The  seeds  are  drop¬ 
ped  along,  from  the  small  end  of  a  gourd,  into  drills 
made  with  one  corner  of  the  hoe.  The  plants,  when 
partly  grown,  are  not  transferred  to  another  place,  as 
in  Asia,  but  are  suffered  to  grow  and  ripen  in  the 
original  drills.  The  crop  is  secured  like  wheat,  and 
the  husks  are  forced  from  the  grain  by  a  machine, 
which  leaves  the  kernels  more  perfect  than  the  meth¬ 
ods  adopted  in  other  countries. 


THE  AGRICULTURIST. 


21 

28.  Cotton  is  cultivated  in  the  East  and  West  Ir$ 
dies,  North  and  South  America,  Egypt,  and  in  many 
other  parts  of  the  world,  where  the  climate  is  suffi¬ 
ciently  warm  for  the  purpose.  There  are  several 
species  of  this  plant ;  of  which  three  kinds  are  culti¬ 
vated  in  the  southern  states  of  the  Union — the  nankeen 
cotton,  the  green  seed  cotton ,  and  the  black  seed ,  or  sea 
island  cotton.  The  first  two,  which  grow  in  the  mid¬ 
dle  and  upland  countries,  are  denominated  short  sta¬ 
ple  cotton  :  the  last  is  cultivated  in  the  lower  country, 
near  the  sea,  and  on  the  islands  near  the  main  land, 
and  is  of  a  fine  quality,  and  of  a  long  staple. 

29.  The  plants  are  propagated  annually  from  seeds, 
which  are  sown  very  thickly  in  ridges  made  with  the 
plough  or  hoe.  After  they  have  grown  to  the  height 
of  three  or  four  inches,  part  of  them  are  pulled  up, 
in  order  that  the  rest,  while  coming  to  maturity,  may 
stand  about  four  inches  apart.  It  is  henceforth  man¬ 
aged,  until  fully  grown,  like  Indian  corn. 

30.  The  cotton  is  inclosed  in  pods,  which  open  as 
fast  as  their  contents  become  fit  to  be  gathered.  In 
Georgia,  about  eighty  pounds  of  upland  cotton  can 
be  gathered  by  a  single  hand  in  a  day ;  but  in  Ala¬ 
bama  and  Mississippi,  where  the  plant  thrives  better, 
two  hundred  pounds  are  frequently  collected  in  the 
same  time. 

31.  The  seeds  adhere  closely  to  the  cotton,  when 
picked  from  the  pods  ;  but  they  are  properly  separa¬ 
ted  by  machines  called  gins ;  of  which  there  are  two 
kinds, — the  roller-gin ,  and  the  saw-gin.  The  essen¬ 
tial  parts  of  the  former  are  two  cylinders,  which  are 
placed  nearly  in  contact  with  each  other.  By  their 
revolving  motion,  the  cotton  is  drawn  between  them, 
while  the  size  of  the  seeds  prevents  their  passage. 
Th  is  machine,  being  of  small  size,  is  worked  by  hand. 

32.  The  saw-gin  is  much  larger,  and  is  moved  by 
animal,  steam,  or  water  power.  It  consists  of  a  re- 


THE  AGRICULTURIST. 


ceiver,  having  one  side  covered  with  strong  wires, 
placed  in  a  parallel  direction  about  an  eighth  of  an 
inch  apart,  and  a  number  of  circular  saws,  which  re¬ 
volve  on  a  common  axis.  The  saws  pass  between 
these  wires,  and  entangle  in  their  teeth  the  cotton, 
which  is  thereby  drawn  through  the  grating,  while 
the  seeds,  from  their  size,  are  forced  to  remain  on  the 
other  side. 

33.  Before  the  invention  of  the  saw-gin,  the  seeds 
were  separated  from  the  upland  cottons  by  hand, — a 
method  so  extremely  tedious,  that  their  cultivation 
was  attended  with  but  little  profit  to  the  planter. 
This  machine  was  invented  in  Georgia  by  Eli  Whit¬ 
ney,  of  Massachusetts.  It  was  undertaken  at  the  re¬ 
quest  of  several  planters  of  the  former  state,  and  was 
there  put  in  operation  in  1792. 

34.  In  the  preceding  year,  the  whole  crop  of  cot¬ 
ton  in  the  United  States  was  only  sixty-four  bales ; 
but,  in  1834,  it  amounted  to  1,000,617.  The  vast  in¬ 
crease  in  the  production  of  this  article  has  arisen,  in 
part,  from  the  increased  demand  for  it  in  Europe,  and 
in  the  Northern  states,  but,  chiefly,  from  the  use  of 
the  invaluable  machine  just  mentioned. 

35.  Sugar-cane  was  cultivated  by  the  Chinese,  at 
a  very  early  period,  probably  two  thousand  years  be¬ 
fore  it  was  known  in  Europe  ;  but  sugar,  in  a  candied 
form,  was  used  in  small  quantities  by  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  in  the  days  of  their  prosperity.  It  was  prob¬ 
ably  brought  from  Bengal,  Siam,  or  some  of  the  East 
India  Islands,  as  it  is  supposed,  that  it  grew  nowhere 
else  at  that  time. 

36.  In  the  thirteenth  century,  soon  after  the  mer¬ 
chants  of  the  West  began  to  traffic  in  Indian  articles 
of  commerce,  the  plant  was  introduced  into  Arabia 
Felix,  and  thence  into  Egypt,  Nubia,  Ethiopia,  and 
Morocco.  The  Spaniards  obtained  it  from  the  Moors, 
and,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  introduced  it  into  the 


2 


THE  AGRICULTURIST. 

• 

Canary  Islands.  It  was  brought  to  America,  and  tcfl 
the  West  India  Islands,  by  the  Spaniards  and  Portu¬ 
guese.  It  is  now  cultivated  in  the  United  States,  be¬ 
low  the  thirty. first  degree  of  latitude,  and  in  the  warm 
parts  of  the  globe  generally. 

37.  Previous  to  the  year  1466,  sugar  was  known 
in  England  chiefly,  as  a  medicine ;  and,  although  the 
sugar-cane  was  cultivated,  at  that  time,  in  several  pla¬ 
ces  on  the  Mediterranean,  it  was  not  more  extensive¬ 
ly  used  on  the  continent.  Now,  in  extent  of  cultiva 
tion,  it  ranks  next  to  wheat  and  rice,  and  first  in  mar¬ 
itime  commerce. 

38.  The  cultivators  of  sugar-cane  propagate  the 
plant  by  means  of  cuttings  from  the  lower  end  of  the 
stalks,  which  are  planted  in  the  spring  or  autumn,  in 
drills,  or  in  furrows.  The  new  plants  spring  from 
the  joints  of  the  cuttings,  and  are  fit  to  be  gathered 
for  use  in  eight,  ten,  twelve,  or  fourteen  months. 
While  growing,  sugar-cane  is  managed  much  like 
Indian  corn. 

39.  When  ripe,  the  cane  is  cut  and  brought  to  the 
sugar-mill,  where  the  juice  is  expressed  between  iron 
or  stone  cylinders,  moved  by  steam,  water,  or  animal 
power.  The  juice  thus  obtained  is  evaporated  in 
large  boilers  to  a  syrup,  which  is  afterwards  removed 
to  coolers,  where  it  is  agitated  with  wooden  instru¬ 
ments  called  stirrers.  To  accelerate  its  cooling,  it  is 
next  poured  into  casks,  and,  when  yet  warm,  is  con¬ 
veyed  to  barrels,  placed  in  an  upright  position  over  a 
cistern,  and  pierced  in  the  bottom  in  several  places. 
The  holes  being  partially  stopped  with  canes,  the  part 
which  still  remains  in  the  form  of  syrup,  filters 
through  them  into  the  cistern  beneath,  while  the  rest 
is  left  in  the  form  of  sugar,  in  the  state  called  mus - 
covado. 

40.  This  sugar  is  of  a  yellow  colour,  being  yet  in 
a  crude,  or  raw  state.  It  is  further  purified  by  various 


24  THE  AGRICULTURIST. 

processes,  such  as  redissolving  it  in  water,  and  again 
boiling  it  with  lime  and  bullocks’  blood,  or  with  ani¬ 
mal  charcoal,  and  passing  the  syrup  through  several 
Canvas  filters. 

41.  Loaf-sugar  is  manufactured  by  pouring  the 
syrup,  after  it  has  been  purified,  and  reduced  to  a 
certain  thickness  by  evaporation,  into  unglazed  earth¬ 
en  vessels  of  a  conical  shape.  The  cones  have  a  hole 
at  their  apex,  through  which  may  filter  the  syrup 
which  separates  from  the  sugar  above.  Most  of  the 
sugar  is  imported  in  a  raw  or  crude  state,  and  is  af¬ 
terward  refined  in  the  cities  in  sugar-houses. 

42.  Molasses  is  far  less  free  from  extraneous  sub¬ 
stances  than  sugar,  as  it  is  nothing  more  than  the 
drainings  from  the  latter.  Rum  is  distilled  from  in¬ 
ferior  molasses,  and  other  saccharine  matter  of  the 
cane,  which  will  answer  for  no  other  purpose. 

43.  Sugar  is  also  manufactured  from  the  sap  of  the 
sugar-maple,  in  considerable  quantities,  in  the  north¬ 
ern  parts  of  the  United  States,  and  in  the  Canadas. 
The  sap  is  obtained  by  cutting  a  notch,  or  boring  a 
hole,  in  the  tree,  and  applying  a  spout  to  conduct  it 
to  a  receiver,  which  is  either  a  rude  trough,  or  a 
cheap  vessel  made  by  a  cooper.  This  operation  is 
performed  late  in  the  winter,  or  early  in  the  spring, 
when  the  weather  is  freezing  at  night,  and  thawing 
in  the  day. 

44.  The  liquid  in  which  the  saccharine  matter  is 
suspended,  is  evaporated  by  heat,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  juice  of  the  cane.  During  the  process  of  evapo¬ 
ration,  slices  of  pork  are  kept  in  the  kettle,  to  prevent 
the  sap  or  syrup  from  boiling  over. 

45.  When  a  sufficient  quantity  of  syrup,  of  a  cer¬ 
tain  thickness,  has  been  obtained,  it  is  passed  through 
a  strainer,  and,  having  been  again  placed  over  the 
fire,  it  is  clarified  with  eggs  and  milk,  the  scum,  as 
it  rises,  being  carefully  removed  with  a  skimmer. 


THE  AGRICULTURIST. 


25 


When  sufficiently  reduced,  it  is  usually  poured  into* 
tin  pans,  or  basins,  in  which,  as  it  cools,  it  consoli¬ 
dates  into  hard  cakes  of  sugar. 

46.  Most  of  the  lands  in  a  state  of  nature,  are  cov¬ 
ered  with  forest  trees.  This  is  especially  the  case  in 
North  America.  When  this  division  of  our  conti¬ 
nent  was  first  visited  by  Europeans,  it  was  nearly  one 
vast  wilderness,  throughout  its  entire  extent ;  and 
even  now,  after  a  lapse  of  three  centuries,  a  great 
portion  of  it  remains  in  the  same  condition.  The  in¬ 
dustrious  settlers,  however,  are  rapidly  clearing  away 
the  natural  encumbrances  of  the  soil ;  and,  before  a 
similar  period  shall  have  passed  away,  we  may  ex¬ 
pect,  that  civilized  men  will  have  occupied  every  por¬ 
tion  of  this  vast  territory,  which  may  be  worthy  of 
cultivation. 

47.  The  mode  of  clearing  land,  as  it  is  termed,  va¬ 
ries  in  different  parts  of  the  United  States.  In  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  and  in  neighborhoods  settled  by  people  from 
that  state,  the  large  trees  are  deadened  by  girdling 
them,  and  the  small  ones,  together  with  the  under¬ 
brush,  are  felled  and  burned.  This  mode  is  very  ob¬ 
jectionable,  for  the  reason,  that  the  limbs  on  the  stand¬ 
ing  trees,  when  they  have  become  rotten,  sometimes 
peril  the  lives  of  persons  and  animals  underneath.  It 
seems,  however,  that  those  who  pursue  this  method, 
prefer  risking  life  in  this  way  to  wearing  it  out  in 
wielding  the  axe,  and  in  rolling  logs. 

48.  A  very  different  plan  is  pursued  by  settlers  from 
New-England.  The  underbrush  is  first  cut  down, 
and  piled  in  heaps.  The  large  trees  are  then  felled, 
to  serve  as  foundations  for  log-heaps  ;  and  the  small¬ 
er  ones  are  cut  so  as  to  fall  as  nearly  parallel  to  these 
as  practicable.  The  smaller  trees,  as  well  as  the 
limbs  of  the  larger  ones,  are  cut  into  lengths  of  twelve 
or  fifteen  feet. 

49.  At  a  proper  season  of  the  year,  when  the  brush 

C 


26 


THE  AGRICULTURIST. 


has  become  dry  enough,  fire  is  applied,  which  con¬ 
sumes  much  of  the  small  stuff*.  The  logs  are  next 
hauled  together  with  oxen  or  horses,  and  rolled  into 
heaps  with  handspikes.  The  small  stuff*  which  has 
escaped  the  first  burning,  is  thrown  upon  the  heaps, 
and,  fire  being  applied,  the  whole  is  consumed  to¬ 
gether. 

50.  In  the  Northern,  Middle,  and  Western  states, 
where  a  great  proportion  of  the  timber  is  beech,  ma¬ 
ple,  and  elm,  great  quantities  of  ashes  are  obtained 
in  this  mode  of  clearing  land.  From  these  ashes  are 
extracted  the  pot  and  pearl  ashes  of  commerce,  which 
have  been,  and  which  still  are,  among  the  principal 
exports  of  the  United  States. 

51.  The  usual  process  of  making  potash  is  as  fol¬ 
lows  :  the  crude  ashes  are  put  into  large  tubs,  or 
leeches ,  with  a  small  quantity  of  salt  and  lime.  The 
strength  of  this  mixture  is  extracted  by  pouring  upon 
it  hot  water,  which  passes  through  it  into  a  reservoir. 
The  water  thus  saturated  is  called  black  ley,  which 
is  evaporated  in  large  kettles.  The  residuum  is  call¬ 
ed  black  salts,  which  are  converted  into  potash  by 
applying  to  the  kettle  an  intense  heat. 

52.  The  process  of  making  pearlash  is  the  same, 
until  the  ley  has  been  reduced  to  black  salts,  except 
that  no  lime  or  salt  is  used.  The  salts  are  baked  in 
large  ovens,  heated  by  a  blazing  fire,  which  proceeds 
from  an  arch  below.  Having  been  thus  scorched ,  the 
salts  are  dissolved  in  hot  water.  The  solution  is  al¬ 
lowed  to  be  at  rest,  until  all  extraneous  substances 
have  settled  to  the  bottom,  when  it  is  drawn  off*  and 
evaporated  as  before.  The  residuum  is  called  white 
salts.  Another  baking,  like  the  former,  completes 
the  process. 

53.  Very  few  of  the  settlers  have  an  ashery,  as  it 
is  called,  in  which  the  whole  process  of  making  either 
pot  or  pearl  ash  is  performed.  They  usually  sell  the 


black  salts  to  the  store-keepers  in  their  neighborhood, 
who  complete  the  process  of  the  manufacture. 

54.  The  trade  in  ashes  is  often  profitable  to  the 
settlers  ;  some  of  them  even  pay,  in  this  way,  the 
whole  expense  of  clearing  their  land.  Pot  and  pearl 
ashes  are  packed  in  strong  barrels,  and  sent  to  the 
cities,  where,  previous  to  sale,  they  are  inspected, 
and  branded  according  to  their  quality. 


THE  HORTICULTURIST. 

1.  The  Creator  of  the  Universe,  having  formed 
man  from  the  dust  of  the  ground,  provided  a  mag- 
nificent  garden  for  his  residence,  and  commanded  him 
“  to  dress  it  and  to  keep  it but,  having  transgressed 
the  commandment  of  his  lawful  Sovereign,  he  was 
driven  from  this  delightful  paradise,  thenceforth  to 
gain  a  subsistence  from  the  earth  at  large,  which 
had  been  cursed  with  barrenness,  thorns,  thistles,  and 
briars. 

.  2.  Scripture  does  not  inform  us,  that  Adam  turned 
his  attention  to  gardening  ;  nor  have  we  any  means 
of  determining  the  state  of  this  art,  in  the  centuries 
previous  to  the  flood  ;  but  it  is  highly  probable,  that 
it  had  arrived  to  considerable  perfection,  before  the 
advent  of  this  destructive  visitation  from  Heaven. 


THE  HORTICULTURIST. 


29 


3.  Gardens,  for  useful  purposes,  were  probably 
made,  soon  after  the  waters  had  subsided  ;  and  the 
statement  in  Scripture,  that  “  Noah  planted  a  vine¬ 
yard,”  may,  perhaps,  be  regarded  as  evidence  suffi¬ 
cient  to  establish  it  as  a  fact.  If  this  were  the  case, 
the  art,  doubtless,  continued  progressive  among  those 
descendants  of  Noah,  who  did  not  sink  into  a  state  of 
barbarism,  after  the  confusion  of  tongues. 

4.  Among  savage  nations,  one  of  the  first  indica¬ 
tions  of  advancement  towards  a  state  of  civilization, 
is  the  cultivation  of  a  little  spot  of  ground  for  raising 
vegetables  ;  and  the  degree  of  refinement  among  the 
inhabitants  of  any  country,  may  be  determined,  with 
tolerable  certainty,  by  the  taste  and  skill  exhibited 
in  their  gardens. 

5.  Ornamental  gardening  is  never  attended  to,  in 
any  country,  until  the  arts  in  general  have  advanced 
to  a  considerable  degree  of  perfection  ;  and  it  uni¬ 
formly  declines  with  other  fine  or  ornamental  arts. 
Accordingly,  we  do  not  read  of  splendid  gardens 
among  the  Babylonians,  Egyptians,  Jews,  Greeks,  Ro¬ 
mans,  and  other  nations  of  antiquity,  until  they  had 
reached  an  exalted  state  of  refinement ;  and  when 
these  nations  descended  from  this  condition,  or  were 
overthrown  by  barbarians,  this  art  declined  or  dis¬ 
appeared. 

6.  During  the  period  of  mental  darkness,  which 
prevailed  between  the  eighth  and  thirteenth  centuries, 
the  practice  of  ornamental  gardening  had  fallen  into 
such  general  disuse,  that  it  was  confined  exclusively 
to  the  monks.  After  this  period,  it  began  again  to 
spread  among  the  people  generally.  It  revived  in 
Italy,  Germany,  Holland,  and  France,  long  before  any 
attention  was  paid  to  it  in  England. 

7.  In  the  latter  country,  but  few  culinary  vegeta¬ 
bles  were  consumed  before  the  beginning  of  the  six¬ 
teenth  century,  and  most  of  these  were  brought  from 

C  2 


30 


THE  HORTICULTURIST. 


Holland  ;  nor  was  gardening  introduced  there,  as  a 
source  of  profit,  until  about  one  hundred  years  af¬ 
ter  that  period.  Peaches,  pears,  plums,  nectarines, 
apricots,  grapes,  cherries,  strawberries,  and  melons, 
were  luxuries  but  little  enjoyed  in  England,  until  near 
the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The  first  hot 
and  ice  houses  known  on  the  island,  were  built  by 
Charles  II.,  who  ascended  the  British  throne  in  1660, 
and  soon  after  introduced  French  gardening  at  Hamp¬ 
ton  Court,  Carlton,  and  Marlborough. 

8.  About  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
this  art  attracted  the  attention  of  some  of  the  first 
characters  in  Great  Britain,  who  gave  it  a  new  im¬ 
pulse  in  that  country.  But  the  style  which  they  im¬ 
itated  was  objectionable,  inasmuch  as  the  mode  of 
laying  out  the  gardens,  and  of  planting  and  trimming 
the  trees,  was  too  formal  and  fantastical. 

9.  Several  eminent  writers,  among  whom  were 
Pope  and  Addison,  ridiculed  this  Dutch  mode  of  gar¬ 
dening,  as  it  was  called,  and  endeavoured  to  introduce 
another,  more  consistent  with  genuine  taste.  Their 
views  were,  at  length,  seconded  by  practical  horticul¬ 
turists  ;  and  those  principles  of  the  art  which  they 
advocated,  were  adopted  in  every  part  of  Great  Brit¬ 
ain.  The  English  mode  has  been  followed  and  emu¬ 
lated  by  the  refined  nations  of  the  Eastern  continent, 
and  by  many  opulent  individuals  in  the  United  States. 

10.  Since  the  beginning  of  the  present  century, 
horticultural  societies  have  been  formed  in  every 
kingdom  of  Europe.  In  Great  Britain  alone,  there 
are  no  less  than  fifty ;  and,  it  is  satisfactory  to  add, 
that  there  are  also  several  of  these  institutions  in  the 
United  States.  The  objects  of  the  persons  who  com¬ 
pose  these  societies  are,  to  collect  and  disseminate  in¬ 
formation  on  this  interesting  art,  especially  in  regard 
to  the  introduction  of  new  and  valuable  articles  of 
cultivation. 


THE  HORTICULTURIST. 


31 


11.  The  authors  who  have  writfen  upon  scientific 
and  practical  gardening,  at  different  periods,  and  in 
different  countries,  are  very  numerous.  Among  the 
ancient  Greek  writers,  were  Hesiod,  Theophrastus, 
Xenophon,  and  iElian.  Among  the  Latins,  Varo  was 
the  first  ;  to  whom  succeeded,  Cato,  Pliny  the  elder, 
Columella,  and  Palladius. 

12.  Since  the  revival  of  literature,  horticulture,  in 
common  with  agriculture,  has  shared  largely  in  the 
labours  of  the  learned  ;  and  many  works,  on  this  im¬ 
portant  branch  of  rural  economy,  have  been  publish¬ 
ed  in  every  language  of  Europe.  But  the  publica¬ 
tions  on  this  subject,  which  attract  the  greatest  at¬ 
tention,  are  the  periodicals  under  the  superintendence 
of  the  great  horticultural  societies.  Those  of  Lon¬ 
don  and  Paris,  are  particularly  distinguished. 

13.  It  is  impossible  to  draw  a  distinct  line  between 
horticulture  and  agriculture  ;  since  so  many  articles 
of  cultivation  are  common  to  both,  and  since  a  well- 
regulated  farm  approaches  very  nearly  to  a  garden. 

14.  The  divisions  of  a  complete  garden,  usually 
adopted  by  writers  on  this  subject,  are  the  following : 
1st.  the  culinary  garden  ;  2d.  the  flower  garden  ;  3d. 
the  orchard,  embracing  different  kinds  of  fruits  ;  4th. 
the  vineyard  ;  5th.  the  seminary,  for  raising  seeds  ; 
6th.  the  nursery,  for  raising  trees  to  be  transplanted  ; 
7th.  the  botanical  garden,  for  raising  various  kinds 
of  plants ;  8th.  the  arboretum  of  ornamental  trees  ; 
and,  9th.  the  picturesque,  or  landscape  garden.  To 
become  skilful  in  the  management  of  even  one  or  two 
of  these  branches,  requires  much  attention  ;  but  to 
become  proficient  in  all,  would  require  years  of  the 
closest  application. 

15.  In  Europe,  the  professed  gardeners  constitute 
a  large  class  of  the  population.  They  are  employed 
either  in  their  own  gardens,  or  in  those  of  the  wealthy, 
who  engage  them  by  the  day  or  year.  There  are 


pj 

32  THE  HORTICULTURIST. 

many  in  this  country  who  devote  their  attention  to 
this  business  ;  but  they  are  chiefly  from  the  other  side 
of  the  Atlantic.  In  our  Southern  states,  the  rich  as¬ 
sign  one  of  their  slaves  to  the  garden. 

16.  In  the  United  States,  almost  every  family  m 
the  country,  and  in  the  villages,  has  its  garden  for 
the  production  of  vegetables,  in  which  are  also  usu¬ 
ally  reared,  a  few  flowers,  ornamental  shrubs,  and 
fruit-trees :  but  horticulture,  as  a  science,  is  stud¬ 
ied  and  practised  here  by  very  few,  especially  that 
branch  of  it  called  picturesque,  or  landscape.  To 
produce  a  pleasing  effect,  in  a  garden  of  this  kind, 
from  twenty  to  one  hundred  acres  are  necessary,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  manner  in  which  the  ground  may  be 
situated.  In  an  area  of  that  extent,  every  branch  of 
this  pleasing  art  can  be  advantageously  embraced. 

17.  Delicate  exotic  plants,  which  will  not  bear  ex¬ 
posure  to  the  open  air  during  the  winter,  are  pre¬ 
served  from  the  effects  of  the  cold  in  hot  or  green 
houses,  which  may  be  warmed  by  artificial  heat.  A 
hot-house  is  exhibited  in  the  representation  of  a  gar¬ 
den,  at  the  head  of  this  article.  It  is  composed  chief¬ 
ly  of  window-glass  set  in  sashes  of  wood.  A  green¬ 
house  is  usually  larger ;  and  is  designed  for  the  pres¬ 
ervation  of  those  plants  requiring  less  heat. 

18.  The  vegetables  commonly  cultivated  in  gar¬ 
dens  for  the  table,  are, — corn,  potatoes,  tomatoes, 
peas,  beans,  squashes,  cucumbers,  melons,  strawber¬ 
ries,  raspberries,  blackberries,  gooseberries,  currants, 
beets,  parsnips,  carrots,  onions,  radishes,  cabbages, 
asparagus,  lettuce,  grapes,  and  various  kinds  of  fruits. 
The  flowers,  ornamental  shrubs,  and  trees,  are  very  * 
numerous,  and  are  becoming  more  so  by  accessions 
from  the  forests,  and  from  foreign  countries. 

19.  The  scientific  horticulturist,  in  laying  off  his 
garden,  endeavours  to  unite  beauty  and  utility,  loca¬ 
ting  the  flowers,  ornamental  shrubs,  and  trees,,  where 


THE  HORTICULTURIST. 


33 


they  will  be  most  conspicuous,  and  those  vegetables 
less  pleasing  to  the  eye,  in  more  retired  situations, 
yet,  in  a  soil  and  exposure  adapted  to  their  con¬ 
stitution.  In  improving  the  soil  of  his  garden,  he 
brings  to  his  aid  the  science  of  chemistry,  together 
with  the  experience  of  practical  men.  He  is  also 
careful  in  the  choice  of  his  fruit-trees,  and  in  in¬ 
creasing  the  variety  of  their  products  by  engrafting, 
and  by  inoculation. 


THE  MILLER. 

1.  The  Miller  belongs  to  that  class  of  employ¬ 
ments  which  relates  to  the  preparation  of  food  and 
drinks  for  man.  His  business  consists,  chiefly,  in  re¬ 
ducing  the  farinaceous  grains  to  a  suitable  degree  of 
fineness. 

2.  The  simplest  method  by  which  grain  can  be  re¬ 
duced  to  meal,  or  flour,  is  rubbing  or  pounding  it  be¬ 
tween  two  stones  ;  and  this  was  probably  the  one 
first  practised  in  all  primitive  conditions  of  society, 
as  it  is  still  pursued  among  some  tribes  of  uncivil¬ 
ized  men. 

3.  The  first  machine  for  comminuting  grain,  of 
which  we  have  any  knowledge,  was  a  simple  hand- 
mill,  composed  of  a  nether  stone  fixed  in  a  horizontal 
position,  and  an  upper  stone,  which  was  put  in  motion 


THE  MILLER. 


35 


with  the  hand  by  means  of  a  peg.  This  simple  con¬ 
trivance  is  still  used  in  India,  as  well  as  in  some  se¬ 
questered  parts  of  Scotland,  and  on  many  of  the  plan, 
tations  in  the  Southern  states  of  our  Union.  But,  in 
general,  where  large  quantities  of  grain  are  to  be 
ground,  it  has  been  entirely  superseded  by  mills  not 
moved  by  manual  power. 

4.  The  modern  corn  and  flour  mill  differs  from  the 
primitive  hand-mill  in  the  size  of  the  stones,  in  the  ad¬ 
dition  of  an  apparatus  for  separating  the  hulls  and 
bran  from  the  farinaceous  part  of  the  grain,  and-  in 
the  power  applied  for  putting  it  in  motion. 

5.  The  grinding  surfaces  of  the  stones  have  chan¬ 
nels,  or  furrows,  cut  in  them,  which  proceed  oblique¬ 
ly  from  the  centre  to  the  circumference.  The  fur¬ 
rows  are  cut  slantwise  on  one  side,  and  perpendicu¬ 
lar  on  the  -other  ;  so  that  each  of  the  ridges  which 
they  form,  has  a  sharp  edge  ;  and,  when  the  upper 
stone  is  in  motion,  these  edges  pass  one  another,  like 
the  blades  of  a  pair  of  scissors,  and  cut  the  grain  the 
more  easily,  as  it  falls  upon  the  furrows. 

6.  By  a  careful  inspection  of  the  following  picture, 
the  whole  machinery  of  a  common  mill  may  be  un¬ 
derstood. 


36 


THE  MILLER. 


A  represents  the  water-toheel ;  B,  the  shaft  to  which 
is  attached  the  cog-wheel  C,  which  acts  on  the  trun¬ 
dle-head,  D  ;  and  this,  in  turn,  acts  on  the  moveable 
stone.  The  spindle,  trundle-head,  and  upper  stone, 
all  rest  entirely  on  the  beam,  F,  which  can  be  eleva¬ 
ted  or  depressed,  at  pleasure,  by  a  simple  apparatus  ; 
so  that  the  distance  between  the  stones  can  be  easily 
regulated,  to  grind  either  fine  or  coarse.  The  grain 
about  to  be  submitted  to  the  action  of  the  mill,  is 
thrown  into  the  hopper,  H,  whence  it  passes  by  the 
shoe,  or  spout  I,  through  a  hole  in  the  upper  stone, 
and  then  between  them  both. 

7.  The  upper  stone  is  a  little  convex,  and  the  other 
a  little  concave.  There  is  a  little  difference,  how¬ 
ever,  between  the  convexity  and  the  concavity  of  the 
two  stones :  this  difference  causes  the  space  between 
them  to  become  less  and  less  towards  their  edges ; 
and  the  grain,  being  admitted  between  them," is,  con¬ 
sequently,  ground  finer  and  finer,  as  it  passes  out  in 
that  direction,  in  which  it  is  impelled  by  the  centrifu¬ 
gal  power  of  the  moving  stone. 

8.  If  the  flour,  or  meal,  is  not  to  be  separated  from 
the  bran,  the  simple  grinding  completes  the  opera¬ 
tion  ;  but,  when  this  separation  is  to  be  made,  the 
comminuted  grain,  as  it  is  thrown  out  from  between 
the  stones,  is  carried,  by  little  leathern  buckets  fas¬ 
tened  to  a  strap,  to  the  upper  end  of  an  octagonal 

"  sieve,  placed  in  an  inclined  position  in  a  large  box. 
The  coarse  bran  passes  out  at  the  lower  end  of  the 
sieve,  or  bolt,  and  the  flour,  or  fine  particles  of  bran, 
through  the  bolting-cloth,  at  different  places,  accord¬ 
ing  to  their  fineness.  At  the  head  of  the  bolt,  the 
superfine  flour  passes  ;  in  the  middle,  the  fine  flour  ; 
and  at  the  lower  end,  the  coarse  flour  and  fine  bran  ; 
which,  when  mixed,  is  called  caneL  or  shorts . 

9.  The  best  matreial  of  which  mill-stones  are 
made,  is  the  burr-stone,  which  is  brought  from  France 


THE  MILLER. 


37 


in  small  pieces,  weighing  from  ten  to  one  hundred 
pounds.  These  are  cemented  together  with  plaster 
of  Paris,  and  closely  bound  around  the  circumfer¬ 
ence  with  hoops  made  of  bar  iron.  For  grinding 
corn  or  rye,  those  made  of  sienite,  or  granite  rock, 
are  frequently  used. 

10.  A  mill,  exclusively  employed  in  grinding  grain, 
consumed  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighborhood,  is 
called  a  grist  or  custom  mill ;  and  a  -portion  of  the 
grist  is  allowed  to  the  miller,  in  payment  lor  his  ser¬ 
vices.  The  proportion  is  regulated  by  law  ;  and,  in 
our  own  country,  it  varies  according  to  the  legisla¬ 
tion  of  the  different  states. 

11.  Mills  in  which  flour  is  manufactured,  and  pack¬ 
ed  in  barrels  for  sale,  are  called  merchant  mills. 
Here,  the  wheat  is  purchased  by  the  miller,  or  by  the 
owner  of  the  mill,  who  relies  upon  the  difference  be¬ 
tween  the  original  cost  of  the  grain,  and  the  probable 
amount  of  its  several  products,  when  sold,  to  remu¬ 
nerate  him  for  the  manufacture,  and  his  investments 
of  capital.  In  Virginia,  and,  perhaps,  in  some  of  the 
other  states,  it  is  a  common  practice  among  the 
farmers,  to  deliver  to  the  millers  their  wheat,  for 
which  they  receive  a  specified  quantity  of  flour. 

12.  The  power  most  commonly  employed  to  put 
heavy  machinery  in  operation,  is  that  supplied  by 
water.  This  is  especially  the  case  with  regard  to 
mills  for  grinding  grain  ;  butf,  when  this  cannot  be 
had,  a  substitute  is  found  in  steam,  or  animal  strength. 
The  wind  is  also  rendered  subservient  to  this  pur¬ 
pose.  The  wind-mill  was  invented  in  the  time  of 
Augustus  Caesar.  During  the  reign  of  this  emperor, 
and  probably  long  before,  mules  and  asses  were  em¬ 
ployed  by  both  the  Greeks  and  Romans  in  turning 
their  mills.  The  period  at  which  water-mills  began 
to  be  used  cannot  be  certainly  determined.  Some 
writers  place  it  as  far  back  as  the  Chiistian  era. 

D 


38 


THE  MILLER. 


13.  Wheat  flour  is  one  of  the  staple  commodities 
of  the  United  States,  and  there  are  mills  for  its  man¬ 
ufacture  in  almost  every  part  of  the  country,  where 
wheat  is  extensively  cultivated  ;  but  our  most  cele¬ 
brated  flour-mills  are  on  the  Brandywine  Creek,  Del., 
at  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  and  at  Richmond,  Va. 

14.  In  our  Southern  states,  hommony  is  a  favor¬ 
ite  article  of  food.  It  consists  of  the  flinty  portions 
of  Indian  corn,  which  have  been  separated  from  the 
hulls  and  eyes  of  the  grain.  To  effect  this  separa¬ 
tion,  the  corn  is  sometimes  ground  very  coarsely  in 
a  mill ;  but  the  most  usual  method  is  that  of  pound¬ 
ing  it  in  a  mortar. 

15.  The  mortar  is  excavated  from  a  log  of  hard 
wood,  between  twelve  and  eighteen  inches  in.  diam¬ 
eter.  The  form  of  the  excavation  is  similar  to  that 
of  a  common  iron  mortar,  except  that  it  is  less  flat 
at  the  bottom,  to  prevent  the  corn  from  being  reduced 
to  meal  during  the  operation.  The  pestle  is  usually 
made  by  confining  an  iron  wedge  in  the  split  end  of 
a  round  stick,  by  means  of  an  iron  ring. 

16.  The  white  flint  corn  is  the  kind  usually  chosen 
for  hommony  ;  although  any  kind,  possessing  the  re¬ 
quisite  solidity,  will  do.  Having  been  poured  into 
the  mortar,  it  is  moistened  with  hot  water,  and  im¬ 
mediately  beaten  with  the  pestle,  until  the  eyes  and 
hulls  are  forced  from  the  flinty  portions  of  the  grain. 
The  part  of  the  com  which  has  been  reduced  to  meal 
by  the  foregoing  process,  is  removed  by  means  of  a 
sieve,  and  the  hulls,  by  the  aid  of  the  wind. 

17.  Hommony  is  prepared  for  the  table  by  boiling 
it  in  water  for  twelve  hours  with  about  one  fourth  of 
its  quantity  of  white  beans,  and  some  fat  bacon.  It 
is  eaten  while  yet  warm,  with  milk  or  butter  ;  or,  if 
suffered  to  get  cold,  is:again  warmed  with  lard  or 
some  other  fat  substance,  before  it  is  brought  to  the 
table. 


THE  BAKER. 

1.  The  business  of  the  Baker  consists  in  making 
bread,  rolls,  biscuits,  and  crackers,  and  in  baking  va¬ 
rious  kinds  of  provisions. 

2.  Man  appears  to  be  designed  by  nature,  to  eat 
all  substances  capable  of  affording  nourishment  to  his 
system  ;  but,  being  more  inclined  to  vegetable  than 
to  animal  food,  he  has,  from  the  earliest  times,  used 
farinaceous  grains,  as  his  principal  means  of  suste¬ 
nance.  As  these,  however,  cannot  be  eaten  in  their 
native  state  without  difficulty,  means  have  been  con¬ 
trived  for  extracting  their  farinaceous  part,  and  for 
converting  it  into  an  agreeable  and  wholesome  ali- 
•ment. 

3.  Those  who  are  accustomed  to  enjoy  all  the  ad¬ 
vantages  of  the  most  useful  inventions,  without  re- 


40 


THE  BAKER. 


fleeting  on  the  labour  expended  in  their  completion, 
may  fancy  that  there  is  nothing  more  easy  than  to 
grind  grain,  to  make  it  into  paste,  and  to  bake  it  in 
an  oven  ;  but  it  must  have  been  a  long  time,  before 
men  discovered  any  better  method  of  preparing  their 
grain,  than  roasting  it  in  the  fire,  or  boiling  it  in  wa¬ 
ter,  and  forming  it  into  viscous  cakes.  Accident, 
probably,  at  length  furnished  some  observing  person 
a  hint,  by  which  good  and  wholesome  bread  could  be 
made  by  means  of  fermentation. 

4.  Before  the  invention  of  the  even,  bread  was  ex¬ 
clusively  baked  in  the  embers,  or  ashes,  or  before  the 
fire.  These  methods,  with  sometimes  a  little  varia¬ 
tion,  are  still  practised,  more  or  less,  in  all  parts  of 
the  world.  In  England,  the  poor  class  of  people  place 
the  loaf  on  the  heated  hearth,  and  invert  over  it  an 
iron  pot  or  kettle,  which  they  surround  with  embers 
or  coals. 

5.  The  invention  of  the  oven  must  have  added  much 
to  the  conveniences  and  comforts  of  the  ancients  ; 
but  it  cannot  be  determined,  at  what  period,  or  by 
whom,  it  was  contrived.  During  that  period  of  re¬ 
mote  antiquity,  in  which  the  people  were  generally 
erratic  in  their  habits,  the  ovens  were  mad^of  clay, 
and  hardened  by  fire,  like  earthenware ;  and,  being 
small,  they  could  be  easily  transported  from  place  to 
place,  like  our  iron  bake-ovens.  Such  ovens  are  still 
in  use  in  some  parts  of  Asia. 

6.  There  are  few  nations  that  do  not  use  bread,  or 
a  substitute  for  it.  Its  general  use  arises  from  a  law 
of  our  economy,  which  requires  a  mixture  of  the  an¬ 
imal  fluids,  in  every  stage  of  the  process  of  digestion. 
The  saliva  is,  therefore,  essential ;  and  the  mastica¬ 
tion  of  dry  food  is  required,  to  bring  it  forth  from  the 
glands  of  the  mouth. 

7.  The  farinaceous  grains  most  usually  employed 
in  making  bread,  are, — wheat,  rye,  barley,- maize,  and 


THE  BAKER. 


41 


oats.  The  flour  or  meal  of  two  of  these  are  often 
mixed  ;  and  wheat  flour  is  sometimes  advantageously 
combined  with  rice,  peas,  beans,  or  potatoes. 

8.  The  component  parts  of  wheat,  rye,  and  barley 
flour,  are, — fecula,  or  starch,  gluten,  and  saccharine 
mucilage.  Fecula  is  the  most  nutritive  part  of  grain. 
It  is  found  in  all  seeds,  and  is  especially  abundant  in 
the  potato.  Gluten  is  necessary  to  the  production  of 
light  bread ;  and  wheat  flour,  containing  it  in  the 
greatest  proportion,  answers  the  purpose  better  than 
any  other.  The  saccharine  mucilage  is  equally  ne¬ 
cessary,  as  this  is  the  substance  on  which  yeast  and 
leaven  act,  in  producing  the  internal  commotion  in 
the  particles  of  dough  during  fermentation. 

9.  There  are  three  general  methods  of  making 
bread ;  1st.  by  mixing  meal  or  flour  with  water,  or 
with  water  and  milk ;  2d.  by  adding  to  the  foregoing 
materials  a  small  quantity  of  sour  dough,  or  leaven, 
to  serve  as  a  fermenting  agent ;  and,  3d.  by  using 
yeast,  to  produce  the  same  general  effect. 

10.  The  theory  of  making  light  bread,  is  not  diffl-' 
cult  to  be  understood.  The  leaven  or  yeast  acts  upon 
the  saccharine  mucilage  of  the  dough,  and,  by  the  aid 
of  heat  and  moisture,  disengages  carbonaceous  mat¬ 
ter,  which,  uniting  with  oxygen,  forms  carbonic  ficid 
gas.  This,  being  prevented  from  escaping  by  the 
gluten  of  the  dough,  causes  the  mass  to  become  light 
and  spongy.  During  the  process  of  baking,  the  in¬ 
creased  heat  disengages  more  of  the  fixed  air,  which 
is  further  prevented  from  escaping  by  the  formation 
of  the  crust.  The  superfluous  moisture  having  been 
expelled,  the  substance  becomes  firm,  and  retains  that 
spongy  hollowness  which  distinguishes  good  bread. 

11.  Many  other  substances  contain  fermenting  qual 
ities,  and  are,  therefore,  sometimes  used  as  substi¬ 
tutes  for  yeast  and  leaven.  The  waters  of  several 
mineral  springs,  both  in  Europe  and  America,  being 

D  2 


42 


THE  BAKER. 


impregnated  with  carbonic  acid  gas,  are  occasionally 
employed  in  making  light  bread. 

12.  The  three  general  methods  of  making  bread, 
and  the  great  number  of  materials  employed,  admit 
of  a  great  variety  in  this  essential  article  of  food  ; 
so  much  so,  that  we  cannot  enter  into  details,  as  re¬ 
gards  the  particular  modes  of  manufacture  adopted 
by  different  nations,  or  people.  There  are,  compar¬ 
atively,  but  few  people  on  the  globe,  among  whom 
this  art  is  not  practised  in  some  way  or  other. 

13.  It  is  impossible  to  ascertain,  at  what  period  of 
time  the  process  of  baking  bread  became  a  particular 
profession.  It  is  supposed,  that  the  first  bakers  in 
Rome  came  from  Greece,  about  two  hundred  years 
before  the  Christian  era ;  and  that  these,  together 
with  some  freemen  of  the  city,  were  incorporated 
into  a  college,  or  company,  from  which  neither  they 
nor  their  children  were  permitted  to  withdraw.  They 
held  their  effects  in  common,  without  possessing  any 
individual  power  of  parting  with  them. 

14.  Each  bake-house  had  a  patron,  or  superintend¬ 
ent  ;  and  one  of  the  patrons  had  the  management  of 
the  rest,  and  the  care  of  the  college.  So  respectable 
was  this  class  of  men  in  Rome,  that  one  of  the  body 
was  occasionally  admitted,  as  a  member  of  the  sen¬ 
ate  ;  and  all,  on  account  of  their  peculiar  corporate 
association,  and  the  public  utility  of  their  employ¬ 
ment,  were  exempted  from  the  performance  of  the 
civil  duties  to  which  other  citizens  were  liable. 

15.  In  many  of  the  large  cities  of  Europe,  the 
price  and  weight  of  bread  sold  by  bakers,  are  regu¬ 
lated  by  law.  The  weight  of  the  loaves  of  different 
sizes  must  be  always  the  same ;  but  the  price  may 
vary,  according  to  the  current  cost  of  the  chief  ma¬ 
terials.  The  law  was  such  in  the  city  of  London,  a 
few  years  ago,  that  if  a  loaf  fell  short  in  weight  a 
single  ounce,  the  baker  was  liable  to  be  put  in  the 


THE  BAKER. 


43 


pillory ;  but  now,  he  is  subject  only  to  a  fine,  varying 
from  one  to  five  shillings,  according  to  the  will  of  the 
magistrate  before  whom  he  may  be  indicted. 

16.  In  this  country,  laws  of  a  character  somewhat 
similar  have  been  enacted  by  the  legislatures  of  sev¬ 
eral  states,  and  by  city  authorities,  with  a  view  to  pro¬ 
tect  the  community  against  impositions  ;  but  whether 
there  is  a  law  or  not,  the  bakers  regulate  the  weight, 
price,  and  quality  of  their  loaves  by  the  general  prin¬ 
ciples  of  trade. 

17.  There  is,  perhaps,  no  business  more  laborious 
than  that  of  the  baker  of  loaf  bread,  who  has  a  regu¬ 
lar  set  of  customers  to  be  supplied  every  morning. 
The  twenty-four  hours  of  the  day  are  systematically 
appropriated  to  the  performance  of  certain  labours, 
and  to  rest.  * 

18.  After  breakfast,  the  yeast  is  prepared,  and  the 
oven-wood  provided :  at  two  or  three  o’clock,  the 
sponge  is  set :  the  hours  from  three  to  eight  or  nine 
o’clock,  are  appropriated  to  rest.  The  baking  com¬ 
mences  at  nine  or  ten  o’clock  at  night ;  and,  in  large 
bakeries,  continues  until  five  o’clock  in  the  morning. 
From  that  time  until  the  breakfast  hour,  the  hands 
are  engaged  in  distributing  the  bread  to  customers. 
For  seven  months  in  the  year,  and,  in  some  cases,  du¬ 
ring  the  whole  of  it,  part  of  the  hands  are  employed, 
from  eleven  to  one  o’clock,  in  baking  pies,  puddings, 
and  different  kinds  of  meats,  sent  to  them  from  neigh¬ 
boring  families. 

19.  In  large  cities,  the  bakers  usually  confine  their 
attention  to  particular  branches  of  the  business.  Some 
bake  light  loaf  bread  only  ;  others  bake  unleavened 
bread,  such  as  crackers,  sea-biscuit,  and  cakes  for 
people  of  the  Jewish  faith.  Some,  again,  unite  sev¬ 
eral  branches  together  ;  and  this  is  especially  the 
case  in  small  cities  and  towns,  where  the  demand  for 
different  kinds  of  bread  is  more  limited. 


THE  CONFECTIONER. 

1.  The  Confectioner  makes  liquid  and  dry  con¬ 
fects,  jellies,  marmalades,  pastes,  conserves,  sugar¬ 
plums,  ice-creams,  candies,  and  cakes  of  various  kinds. 

2.  Many  of  the  articles  just  enumerated,  are  pre¬ 
pared  in  families  for  domestic  use  ;  but,  as  their  prep¬ 
aration  requires  skill  and  practice,  and  is  likewise  at¬ 
tended  with  some  trouble,  it  is  sometimes  better  to 

• 

preserves  made  of 
various  kinds  of  fruits  and  berries,  the  principal  of 
which  are, — peaches,  apricots,  pears,  quinces,  apples, 
plums,  cherries,  grapes,  strawberries,  gooseberries, 
currants,  and  raspberries.  The  fruit,  of  whatever 
kind  it  may  be,  is  confected  by  boiling  it  in  a  thick 
clarified  syrup  of  sugar,  until  it  is  about  half  cooked. 


purchase  them  of  the  confectioner 
3.  Liquid  and  dry  confects  are 


THE  CONFECTIONER. 


45 


Dry  confects  are  made  by  boiling  the  fruit  a  little  in 
syrup,  and  then  drying  it  with  a  moderate  heat  in  an 
oven.  The  ancients  confected  with  honey  ;  but,  at 
present,  sugar  is  deemed  more  suitable  for  this  pur. 
pose,  and  is  almost  exclusively  employed. 

4.  Jellies  resemble  a  thin  transparent  glue,  or  size. 
They  are  made  by  mixing  the  juice  of  the  fruits  men- 

t  tioned  in  the  preceding  paragraph,  with  a  due  propor¬ 
tion  of  sugar,  and  then  boiling  the  composition  down 
to  a  proper  consistence.  Jellies  are  also  made  of  the 
flesh  of  animals  ;  but  such  preparations  cannot  be 
long  kept,  as  they  soon  become  corrupt. 

5.  Marmalades  are  thin  pastes,* usually  made  of 
the  pulp  of  fruits  that  have  some  consistence,  and 
about  an  equal  weight  of  sugar.  Pastes  are  similar 
to  marmalades,  in  their  materials,  and  mode  of  prep¬ 
aration.  The  difference  consists  only  in  their  being 
reduced  by  evaporation  to  a  consistence,  which  ren¬ 
ders  them  capable  of  retaining  a  form,  when  put  into 
moulds,  and  dried  in  an  oven. 

6.  Conserves  are  a  species  of  dry  confects,  com-, 
pounded  of  sugar  and  flowers.  The  flowers  usually 
employed,  are,  —  roses,  mallows,  rosemary,  orange, 
violets,  jessamine,  pistachoes,  citrons,  and  sloes.  Or¬ 
ange-peel  is  also  used  for  the  same  purpose. 

7.  Candies  are  made  of  clarified  sugar,  reduced 
by  evaporation  to  a  suitable  degree  of  consistence. 
They  receive  their  name  from  the  essence,  or  sub¬ 
stance,  employed  in  giving  them  the  required  flavour. 

8.  Sugar-plums  are  small  fruits,  seeds,  little  pieces 
of  bark,  or  odoriferous  and  aromatic  roots,  incrusted 
with  hard  sugar.  These  trifles  are  variously  denom¬ 
inated  ;  but,  in  most  cases,  according  to  the  name  of 
the  substance  inclosed  by  the  incrustation. \ 

9.  Ice-cream  is  an  article  of  agreeable  refreshment 
in  hot  weather.  It  is  sold  in  confectionary  shops,  as 
well  a.s  at  the  public  gardens,  and  other  places  of  tern- 


46 


THE  CONFECTIONER. 


porary  resort  in  cities.  It  is  composed,  chiefly,  of 
milk  or  cream,  fruit,  and  lemon-juice.  It  is  prepared 
by  beating  the  materials  well  together,  and  rubbing 
them  through  a  fine  hair  sieve.  The  congelation  is 
effected  by  placing  the  containing  vessel  in  one  which 
is  somewhat  larger,  and  filling  the  surrounding  va¬ 
cancy  with  a  mixture  of  salt  and  fine  ice. 

10.  Cakes  are  made  of  a  great  variety  of  ingre¬ 
dients  ;  the  principal  of  which  are,  flour,  butter,  eggs, 
sugar,  water,  milk,  cream,  yeast,  wine,  brandy,  rai¬ 
sins,  currants,  caraway,  lemoq,  orange,  almonds,  cin¬ 
namon,  nutmeg,  allspice,  cloves,  and  ginger.  The 
different  combinations  of  these  materials,  produce  so 
great  a  variety  of  cakes,  that  it  would  be  fedious  to 
detail  even  their  names. 

11.  The  confectioner,  in  addition  to  those  articles 
which  may  be  considered  peculiar  to  his  business, 
deals  in  various  kinds  of  fruits  and  nuts,  which  grow 
in  different  climates.  He  also  sells  a  variety  of  pick¬ 
les,  which  he  usually  procures  from  those  who  make 
it  a  business  to  prepare  them. 

12.  Soda-water  is  likewise  often  sold  by  the  con¬ 
fectioner.  This  agreeable  drink  is  merely  water,  im¬ 
pregnated  with  carbonic  acid  gas,  by  means  of  a  for¬ 
cing-pump.  The  confectioners,  however,  in  large  cit¬ 
ies,  seldom  prepare  it  themselves,  as  they  can  procure 
it  at  less  expense,  and  with  less  trouble,  ready  made. 

13.  Sometimes,  the  business  of  the  pastry-cook  is 
united  with  that  of  the  confectioner,  especially  with 
that  branch  of  it  which  relates  to  making  cakes. 
Pies  and  tarts  consist  of  paste,  which,  in  baking, 
becomes  a  crust,  and  some  kind  of  fruit  or  meat,  or 
both,  with  suitable  seasoning.  The  art  of  making 
pies  and  tarts  is  practised,  more  or  less,  in  every  fam¬ 
ily  :  it  is  not,  therefore,  essential  to  be  particular  in 
naming  the  materials  employed,  or  the  manner  in 
which  they  are  combined. 


THE  BREWER,  AND  THE  DISTILLER. 


THE  BREWER. 

1.  Brewing  is  the  art  of  preparing  a  liquor,  which 
has  received  the  general  denomination  of  beer.  This 
beverage  can  be  brewed  from  any  kind  of  farinaceous 
grain  ;  but,  on  various  accounts,  barley  is  usually  pre¬ 
ferred.  It  is  prepared  for  the  brewer’s  use  bv  con¬ 
verting  it  into  malt,  which  is  effected  by  the  follow¬ 
ing  process. 

2.  The  grain  is  soaked  in  a  cistern  of  water  about 
two  days,  or  until  it  is  completely  saturated  with  that 
fluid.  It  is  then  taken  out,  and  spread  upon  a  floor 
in  a  layer  nearly  two  feet  thick.  When  the  inside 
of  this  heap  begins  to  grow  warm,  and  the  kernels  to 
;germinate,  the  malster  checks  the  rapid  growth  of 
the  grain  in  that  situation  by  changing  it  to  the  out- 


48 


THE  BREWER. 


side.  This  operation  is  continued,  until  the  saccha¬ 
rine  matter  in  the  barley  has  been  sufficiently  evolved 
by  the  natural  process  of  germination. 

3.  The  grain  is  next  transferred  to  the  kiln,  which 
is  an  iron  or  tile  floor,  perforated  with  small  holes, 
and  moderately  heated  beneath  with  a  fire  of  coke 
or  stone  coal.  Here,  the  grain  is  thoroughly  dried, 
and  the  principle  of  germination  completely  destroy¬ 
ed.  The  malt  thus  made  is  prepared  for  being 
brewed,  by  crushing  it  in  a  common  mill,  or  between 
rollers.  Malting,  in  Great  Britain,  and  in  some  oth¬ 
er  parts  of  Europe,  is  a  business  distinct  from  brew¬ 
ing  ;  but,  in  the  United  States,  the  brewers  generally 
make  their  own  malt. 

4.  The  first  part  of  the  process  of  brewing  is  call¬ 
ed  mashing.  This  is  performed  in  a  large  tub,  or 
tun ,  having  two  bottoms.  The  upper  one,  consisting 
of  several  moveable  pieces,  is  perforated  with  a  great 
number  of  small  holes ;  the  other,  though  tight  and 
immoveable  at  the  edges,  has  several  large  holes, 
furnished  with  ducts,  which  lead  to  a  cistern  beneath. 

5.  The  malt,  designed  for  one  mashing,  is  spread 
in  an  even  layer  on  the  upper  bottom,  and  thoroughly 
saturated  and  incorporated  with  water  nearly  boiling, 
by  means  of  iron  rakes,  which  are  made  to  revolve 
and  move  round  in  the  tub  by  the  aid  of  machinery. 
The  water,  together  with  the  soluble  parts  of  the  malt, 
at  length  passes  off,  through  the  holes  before  men¬ 
tioned,  into  the  reservoir  beneath. 

6.  The  malt  requires  to  be  mashed  two  or  three 
times  in  succession  with  fresh  quantities  of  water ; 
and  the  product  of  each  mashing  is  appropriated  to 
making  liquors  of  different  degrees  of  strength. 

7.  The  product  of  the  mashing-tun  is  called  wort , 
which,  being  transferred  to  a  large  copper  kettle,  is 
boiled  for  a  considerable  time  with  a  quantity  of 
hops,  and  then  drawn  off  into  large  shallow  cisterns, 


49 


THE  BREWER. 

called  coolers.  When  the  mixture  has  become  cool 
enough  to  be  submitted  to  fermentation,  it  is  drawn 
off  into  the  working  tun. 

8.  The  fermentation  is  effected  with  yeast,  which, 
acting  on  the  saccharine  matter,  disengages  carbonic 
acid  gas.  This  part  of  the  process  requires  from 
eighteen  to  forty-eight  hours,  according  to  the  degree 
of  heat  which  may  be  in  the  atmosphere. 

9.  The  beer  is  then  drawn  off  into  casks  of  differ, 
ent  dimensions,  in  which  it  undergoes  a  still  further 
fermentation,  sometimes  called  the  brewer's  cleansing. 
During  this  fermentation,  the  froth,  or  yeast,  works 
out  at  the  bung-hole,  and  is  received  in  a  trough,  on 
the  edges  of  which  the  casks  have  been  placed.  The 
froth  thus  discharged  from  the  beer,  is  the  yeast  used 
by  the  brewers. 

10.  The  products  of  the  brewery  are  denominated 
beer ,  ale ,  and  porter.  The  difference  between  these 
liquors  arises,  chiefly,  from  the  manner  in  w  hich  the 
malt  has  been  prepared,  the  relative  strength  impart¬ 
ed  to  each,  and  the  extent  to  which  the  fermentation 
has  been  carried. 

11.  There  are  several  kinds  of  beer;  such  as  ta. 
ble  beer,  half  and  half,  and  strong  beer.  They  are 
adapted  to  use  soon  after  being  brewed,  and  differ 
from  each  other  but  little,  except  in  the  degree  of 
their  strength. 

12.  Ale  and  porter  are  called  stock  liquors;  be- 
cause,  not  being  designed  for  immediate  consumption, 
they  are  kept  for  a  considerable  time,  that  they  may 
improve  in  quality.  Porter  is  usually  prepared  for 
consumption  by  putting  it  into  bottles.  This  is  done 
either  at  the  brewery,  or  in  bottling  establishments. 
In  the  latter  case,  the  liquor  is  purchased  in  large 
quantities  from  the  brewer  by  persons  who  make  it 
their  business  to  supply  retailers  and  private  families. 

13.  We  have  evidence  that  fermented  liquor  was 

E 


50 


THE  DISTILLER. 


in  use  three  thousand  years  ago.  It  was  first  used 
in  Egypt,  whence  it  passed  into  adjacent  countries, 
and  afterward  into  Spain,  France,  and  England.  It 
was  sometimes  called  the  wine  of  barley;  and  one 
kind  of  it  was  denominated  Pelusian  drink,  from  the 
city  Pelusium,  where  it  was  first  made. 

14.  Among  the  nations  of  modern  times,  the  Eng¬ 
lish  are  the  most  celebrated  for  brewing  good  liquors. 
London  porter  is  especially  in  great  repute,  not  only 
in  that  city2  but  in  distant  countries.  Much  ferment¬ 
ed  liquor  of  .the  different  kinds,  is  consumed  in  the 
United  States,  where  it  is  also  made  in  considerable 
perfection. 

THE  DISTILLER. 

1.  Although  alcohol  can  be  extracted  from  any 
substance  containing  saccharine  matter,  yet  sugar¬ 
cane,  grapes,  apples,  peaches,  rye,  corn,  and  rice,  on 
account  of  their  abundance,  and  superior  adaptation 
to  the  purpose,  are  more  commonly  used  than  any 
other.  As  whiskey  is  the  chief  article  of  this  kind, 
manufactured  in  the  United  States,  it  will  be  selected 
to  illustrate  the  general  principles  of  distillation. 

2.  Corn  and  rye  are  the  materials  from  which  this 
liquor  is  mostly  extracted  ;  and  these  are  used  either 
together  or  separately,  at  the  option  of  the  distiller. 
The  meal  is  scalded  and  mashed  in  a  large  tub :  it  is 
then  permitted  to  stand,  until  it  has  become  a  little 
sweet,  when  more  water  is  poured  upon  it,  and,  at  a 
suitable  temperature,  a  quantity  of  yeast  is  added. 
To  aid  in  producing  rapid  fermentation,  a  little  malt 
is  sprinkled  on  the  top. 

3.  After  an  adequate  fermentation  has  taken  place, 
the  beer ,  as  it  is  called,  is  transferred  to  a  large  close 
tub,  from  the  top  of  which  leads  a  tube  extending  to 
the  worm  in  another  tub  filled  with  cold  water.  The 


THE  DISTILLER.  51 

worm  is  a  long  pewter  tube,  twisted  spirally,  that  it 
may  occupy  a  small  space. 

4.  The  beer  is  heated  in  the  close  tub,  by  means  of 
steam,  which  is  conveyed  to  it,  from  a  large  kettle  or 
boiler,  by  a  copper  or  iron  pipe.  The  heat  causes 
the  alcoholic  particles  to  rise  like  vapour,  and  pass 
into  the  worm,  where  they  are  condensed  into  a  wa¬ 
tery  fluid,  which  passes  out  into  a  receiver. 

5.  At  first,  pure  alcohol  distils  from  the  worm  ; 
but  the  produce  becomes  gradually  weaker,  until,  at 
length,  the  spirit  in  the  beer  being  exhausted,  it 
consists  only  of  water  condensed  from  steam.  The 
remains  of  the  beer  are  given  as  feed  to  hogs  and 
cattle. 

6.  Brandy  is  distilled  from  grapes,  rum  from  sugar¬ 
cane,  arrack  from  rice,  whiskey  from  various  kinds 
of  grain,  peach  -  brandy  from  peaches,  and  cider- 
brandy  from  apples. 

7.  The  great  variety  of  articles  employed  in  the 
productions  of  different  kinds  of  ardent  spirits,  must 
necessarily  vary  the  process  of  distillation  in  some 
particulars  ;  but,  in  all  cases,  fermentation  and  heat 
are  necessary  to  disengage  the  alcoholic  properties 
of  the  saccharine  matter,  and  also  an  apparatus  for 
condensing  the  same  from  a  gaseous  to  a  liquid  form. 
In  some  countries,  the  alembic  is  used  as  a  condenser, 
instead  of  a  worm.  The  form  of  this  instrument  is 
much  like  that  of  the  retort ;  and  when  applied,  it  is 
screwed  upon  the  top  of  the  boiler. 

8.  Spirits,  which  come  to  market  in  a  crude  state, 
are  sometimes  distilled  for  the  purpose  of  improving 
their  quality,  or  for  disguising  them  with  drugs  and 
colouring  substances,  that  they  may  resemble  supe¬ 
rior  liquors.  The  process  by  which  they  are  thus 
changed,  or  improved,  is  called  rectification.  Many 
distilleries  in  large  cities,  are  employed  in  this  branch 
of  business. 


52 


THE  DISTILLER. 


9.  There  is,  perhaps,  no  kind  of  merchandise  in 
which  the  public  is  more  deceived,  than  in  the  quality 
of  ardent  spirits  and  wines.  To  illustrate  this,  it  is 
only  necessary  to  observe,  that  Holland  gin  is  made 
by  distilling  French  brandy  with  juniper- berries  ;  but 
most  of  the  spirits  which  are  vended  under  that  name, 
consist  only  of  rum  or  whiskey,  flavoured  with  the 
oil  of  turpentine.  Genuine  French  brandy  is  dis¬ 
tilled  from  grapes  ;  but  the  article  usually  sold  under 
that  denomination,  is  whiskey  or  rum  coloured  with 
treacle  or  scorched  sugar,  and  flavoured  with  the  oil 
of  wine,  or  some  kind  of  drug. 

10.  The  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans  were  ac¬ 
quainted  with  an  instrument  for  distillation,  which 
they  denominated  ambix.  This  was  adopted,  a  long 
time  afterward,  by  the  Arabian  alchemists,  for  ma¬ 
king  their  chemical  experiments  ;  but  they  made 
some  improvements  in  its  construction,  and  changed 
its  name  to  alembic. 

11.  The  ancients,  however,  knew  nothing  of  alco¬ 
hol.  The  method  of  extracting  this  intoxicating  sub¬ 
stance,  was  probably  discovered  some  time  in  the 
twelfth  or  thirteenth  century  ;  but,  for  many  ages 
after  the  discovery,  it  was  used  only  as  a  medicine, 
and  was  kept  for  sale  exclusively  in  apothecary 
shops.  It  is  now  used  as  a  common  article  of  stim¬ 
ulation,  in  almost  every  quarter  of  the  globe. 

12.  But  the  opinion  is  becoming  general,  among 
all  civilized  people,  that  the  use  of  alcohol,  for  this 
purpose,  is  destructive  of  health,  and  the  primary 
cause  of  most  of  the  crimes  and  pauperism  in  all 
places,  where  its  consumption  is  common.  The  for¬ 
mation  of  Temperance  Societies,  and  the  publication 
of  their  reports,  together  with  the  extensive  circula¬ 
tion  of  periodical  papers,  devoted  to  the  cause  of 
temperance,  have  already  diminished,  to  a  very  great 
extent,  the  use  of  spirituous  liquors. 


THE  DISTILLER. 


53 


13.  Although  the  ancients  knew  nothing  of  distil¬ 
ling  alcohol,  yet  they  were  well  versed  in  the  art  of 
making  wine.  We  read  of  the  vineyard,  as  far  back 
as  the  time  of  Noah,  the  second  father  of  nations  ; 
and,  from  that  period  to  the  present,  the  grape  has 
been  the  object  of  careful  cultivation,  in  all  civilized 
nations,  where  the  climate  and  soil  were  adapted  to 
the  purpose. 

14.  The  general  process  of  making  wine  from 
grapes,  is  as  follows.  The  grapes,  when  gathered, 
are  crushed  by  treading  them  with  the  feet,  and  rub¬ 
bing  them  in  the  hands,  or  by  some  other  means, 
with  the  view  to  press  out  the  juice.  The  whole  is 
then  suffered  to  stand  in  the  vat,  until  it  has  passed 
through  what  is  termed  the  vinous  fermentation,  when 
the  juice,  which,  in  this  state,  is  termed  must,  is 
drawn  off  into  open  vessels,  where  it  remains  until 
the  pressing  of  the  husks  is  finished. 

15.  The  husks  are  submitted,  in  hair  bags,  to  the 
press ;  and  the  must  which  is  the  result  of  this  op¬ 
eration,  is  mixed  with  that  drawn  from  the  vat.  The 
whole  is  then  put  into  casks,  where  it  undergoes  an¬ 
other  fermentation,  called  the  spirituous,  which  oc¬ 
cupies  from  six  to  twelve  days.  The  casks  are  then 
bunged  up,  and  suffered  to  stand  a  few  weeks,  when 
the  wine  is  racked  off  from  the  lees,  and  again  re¬ 
turned  to  the  same  casks,  after  they  have  been  per¬ 
fectly  cleansed.  Two  such  rackings  generally  ren¬ 
der  the  wine  clear  and  brilliant. 

16.  In  many  cases,  sugar,  brandy,  and  flavoring 
substances,  are  necessary,  to  render  the  wine  palate- 
able  ;  but  the  best  kinds  of  grapes  seldom  require  any 
of  these  additions.  Wine-merchants  often  adulterate 
their  wines  in  various  ways,  and  afterwards  sell  them 
for  those  which  are  genuine.  To  correct  acidity, 
and  some  other  unpleasant  qualities,  lead,  copper, 
antimony,  and  corrosive  sublimate,  are  often  used 

E  2 


54 


THE  DISTILLER. 


by  the  dealers  in  wine  ;  though  the  practice  is  at¬ 
tended  with  deleterious  effects  to  the  health  of  the 
consumers. 

17.  The  wines  most  usually  met  with  in  this  coun¬ 
try,  are  known  by  the  following  denominations,  viz., 
Madeira  and  Teneriffe ,  from  islands  of  the  same 
names  ;  Port,  from  Portugal ;  Sherry  and  Malaga, 
from  Spain  ;  Champagne,  Burgundy ,  and  Claret,  from 
France ;  and  Hock,  from  Germany. 


9 


THE  BUTCHER. 


1.  Man  is  designed  by  nature,  to  subsist  on  vege¬ 
table  and  animal  food.  This  is  obvious,  from  the 
structure  of  his  organs  of  mastication  and  digestion. 
It  does  not  follow,  however,  that  animal  food  is,  in  all 
cases,  positively  required.  In  some  countries,  the 
mass  of  the  people  subsist  chiefly  or  entirely  on  vege¬ 
tables.  This  is  especially  the  case  in  the  East  In¬ 
dies,  where  rice  and  fruits  are  the  chief  articles  of 
food. 

2.  On  the  other  hand,  the  people  who  live  in  the 
higher  latitudes  subsist  principally  on  the  flesh  of  an¬ 
imals.  This  is  preferred,  not  only  because  it  is  bet- 
ter  suited  to  brace  the  system  against  the  rigours  of 
the  climate,  but  because  it  is  most  easily  provided. 


56 


THE  BUTCHER. 


In  temperate  climates,  a  due  proportion  of  both  an¬ 
imal  and  vegetable  substances  is  consumed. 

3.  Although  the  skins  of  beasts  were  used  for  the 
purpose  of  clothing,  soon  after  the  fall  of  man,  we 
have  no  intimation  from  the  Scriptures,  that  their 
flesh,  or  that  of  any  other  animal,  was  used,  until  af¬ 
ter  the  flood.  The  Divine  permission  was  then  given 
to  Noah  and  his  posterity,  to  use,  for  this  purpose, 
“  every  moving  thing  that  liveth.”  But  in  the  law  of 
Moses,  delivered  several  centuries  after  this  period, 
many  exceptions  are  to  be  found,  which  were  intend¬ 
ed  to  apply  only  to  the  Jewish  people.  These  restric¬ 
tions  were  removed,  on  the  introduction  of  Christi¬ 
anity.  The  unbelieving  Jews,  however,  still  adhere 
to  their  ancient  law. 

4.  The  doctrine  of  transmigration  has  had  a  great 
influence  in  diminishing  the  consumption  of  animal 
food.  This  absurd  notion  arose  somewhere  in  Cen¬ 
tral  Asia,  and,  at  a  very  early  period,  it  spread  into 
Egypt,  Greece,  Italy,  and  finally  among  the  remote 
countries  of  the  ancient  world.  It  is  still  entertained 
by  the  heathen  nations  of  Eastern  Asia,  by  the  tribes 
in  the  vicinity  of  Mount  Caucasus,  and  by  some  of  the 
American  savages,  and  African  negroes. 

5.  The  leading  feature  of  this  doctrine  is,  that  the 
souls  of  departed  men  reappear  on  earth  in  the  bod¬ 
ies  of  animals,  both  as  a  punishment  for  crimes  com¬ 
mitted  during  life,  and  as  a  means  of  purification  from 
sin.  This  dogma  was  adopted  by  the  Pythagoreans, 
a  sect  of  Grecian  philosophers  ;  and,  as  a  natural  con¬ 
sequence,  it  led  them,  as  it  has  ever  done  the  votaries 
of  this  opinion,  to  the  veneration  of  animals,  and  to 
abstinence  from  their  flesh,  lest  they  might  devour 
that  of  some  of  their  deceased  friends  or  relatives. 

6.  People  who  dwell  thinly  scattered  in  the  coun¬ 
try,  rear  and  slaughter  the  animals  for  the  supply  of 
their  own  tables ;  but,  in  villages,  large  towns,  and 


THE  BUTCHER. 


57 


cities,  the  inhabitants  depend  chiefly  on  the  butcher 
for  their  meat.  The  animals  commonly  slaughtered 
are,  sheep,  cattle,  and  hogs. 

7.  The  butchers  obtain  their  animals  from  the  farm¬ 
ers,  or  from  drovers,  who  make  it  a  business  to  pur¬ 
chase  them  in  the  country,  and  drive  them  to  market. 
The  farmers  near  large  cities,  who  have  good  grazing 
farms,  are  accustomed  to  buy  lean  cattle,  brought 
from  a  distance,  with  a  view  to  fatten  them  for  sale. 
There  are  also  persons  in  the  cities,  who  might,  with 
propriety,  be  called  cattle  brokers;  since  they  supply 
the  butchers  of  small  capital  with  a  single  animal  at 
a  time,  on  a  credit  of  a  few  days. 

8.  Every  butcher  who  carries  on  the  business,  has 
a  house  in  which  he  kills  his  animals,  and  prepares 
them  for  sale.  When  it  is  intended  to  slaughter  an 
ox,  a  rope  is  thrown  about  his  horns  or  neck,  with 
which  he  is  forced  into  the  slaughter-house,  and 
brought  to  the  floor  by  the  aid  of  a  ring.  The  butch¬ 
er  then  knocks  him  on  the  head,  cuts  his  throat,  de¬ 
prives  him  of  his  hide,  takes  out  his  entrails,  washes 
the  inside  of  his  body  with  water,  and  cuts  him  up 
into  quarters.  The  beef  is  now  ready  to  be  convey¬ 
ed  to  the  market-house.  The  process  of  dressing 
other  quadrupeds  varies  but  little  from  this  in  its  gen¬ 
eral  details.  The  cellular  substance  of  mutton,  lamb, 
and  veal,  is  often  inflated  with  air,  that  the  meat  may 
appear  fat  and  plump. 

9.  In  large  cities  and  towns,  the  meat  is  chiefly 
sold  in  the  market-house,  where  each  butcher  has  a 
stall  rented  from  the  corporation.  It  is  carried  there 
in  a  cart,  and  cut  into  suitable  pieces  with  a  saw, 
knife,  and  a  broad  iron  cleaver. 

10.  In  some  of  the  large  cities,  it  is  a  practice 
among  the  butchers,  to  employ  runners  to  carry  the 
meat  to  the  houses  of  those  customers  who  may  de¬ 
sire  this  accommodation.  In  villages,  where  there  is 


58 


THE  BUTCHER, 


no  market-house,  the  butcher  carries  his  meats  from 
door  to  door  in  some  kind  of  vehicle. 

11.  Those  who  follow  this  occupation  usually  en- 
joy  good  health,  and,  as  they  advance  in  years,  in 
most  cases,  become  corpulent.  Their  good  health 
arises  from  exercise  in  the  open  air  ;  and  their  cor¬ 
pulency,  from  subsisting  principally  on  fresh  meats. 
It  is  thought,  however,  that  their  longevity  is  not  so 
great  as  that  of  men  in  many  other  employments. 


< 


THE  TOBACCO  PLANTER,  and  THE  TOBACCONIST 

THE  TOBACCO  PLANTER. 

1.  Tobacco  is  a  native  production  of  America, 
which  was  in  common  use  among  nearly  all  of  the 
Indian  tribes,  when  this  continent  vyas  discovered  by 
Europeans.  Its  original  name  among  the  nations  of 
the  islands,  was  yoli ;  whilst,  with  those  of  the  con¬ 
tinent,  it  was  termed  petum.  The  Spaniards,  how¬ 
ever,  chose  to  call  it  tobacco,  a  term  in  the  Haytian 
language,  which  designated  the  instrument  in  which 
the  herb  was  smoked. 

2.  This  plant  was  first  introduced  into  Spain,  then 
into  Portugal  and  France,  and,  at  length,  into  other 
countries  of  the  Eastern  continent.  Sir  Walter  Ra¬ 
leigh  carried  it  from  Virginia  to  England,  and  taught 
his  countrymen  the  various  methods  of  consuming  it 
among  the  natives. 


60 


THE  TOBACCO  PLANTER. 


3.  The  introduction  of  this  nauseous  plant  into  Eu¬ 
rope,  was  everywhere  attended  with  ridicule  and  op¬ 
position.  Hundreds  of  pamphlets  were  published,  in 
various  languages,  dissuading  from  its  use  in  the 
strongest  terms.  Even  James  the  First,  king  of 
Great  Britain,  did  not  regard  it  as  inconsistent  with 
the  royal  dignity  to  take  up  his  pen  on  the  subject. 
In  his  “  Counterblast  to  Tobacco ,”  published  in  1603, 
occurs  the  following  remarkable  passage  :  “  it  is  a 
custom  loathsome  to  the  eye,  hateful  to  the  nose,  harm¬ 
ful  to  the  brain  ;  and,  in  the  black  fume  thereof,  near¬ 
est  resembling  the  horrible  Stygian  smoke  of  the  pit 
that  is  bottomless.” 

4.  Pope  Urban  VIII.  excommunicated  those  who 
took  tobacco  in  churches ;  and  Queen  Elizabeth  also 
prohibited  its  use  in  houses  of  public  worship.  In 
1689,  an  ordinance  was  published  in  Transylvania, 
threatening  those  who  should  plant  tobacco  with  the 
confiscation  of  their  estates.  The  grand-duke  of 
Moscow,  and  the  king  of  Persia,  prohibited  its  use 
under  the  penalty  of  the  loss  of  the  nose,  and  even  of 
life.  At  present,  however,  the  consumption  of  tobac¬ 
co  is  looked  upon  with  so  much  greater  indulgence, 
that  all  the  sovereigns  of  Europe,  and  most  of  those 
of  other  nations,  derive  a  considerable  revenue  from 
the  trade  in  this  article. 

5.  But  it  is  truly  astonishing,  that  a  nauseous  weed, 
of  an  acrid  taste,  disagreeable  odour,  and  deleterious 
qualities,  should  have  had  so  great  an  influence  on  the 
social  condition  of  nations  ;  that  its  culture  should 
have  spread  more  rapidly  than  that  of  the  most  use¬ 
ful  plants  ;  and  that  it  should,  consequently,  have  be- 
come  an  article  of  extensive  commerce. 

6.  Of  this  plant  there  are  several  species,  which 
differ  from  each  other,  in  size,  strength,  and  flavour. 
Some  one  or  more  of  these  varieties,  are  cultivated  in 
various  parts  of  the  world  ;  but  especially  in  North 


THE  TOBACCO  PLANTER. 


61 


and  South  America,  and  in  the  West  Indies.  It  is 
one  of  the  staple  productions  of  Maryland,  Virginia, 
Kentucky,  and  Ohio.  The  whole  value  of  the  tobac¬ 
co,  exported  annually  from  the  United  States,  amounts 
to  about  five  millions  of  dollars. 

7.  The  following  description  of  the  mode  of  cul¬ 
tivating  this  plant,  and  preparing  it  for  the  tobacco¬ 
nist,  is  applicable  to  the  state  of  Maryland.  A  little 
variation  in  some  of  the  details,  would  render  it  ap¬ 
plicable  to  other  parts  of  the  world. 

8.  A  small  piece  of  ground,  say  one-sixteenth  of 
an  acre,  is  prepared  by  burning  a  large  quantity  of 
brush  upon  it.  The  surface  is  rendered  light  and 
even,  by  means  of  a  hoe  and  rake  ;  and  the  seeds, 
mixed  with  ashes,  are  sown  as  equally  as  possible. 
After  they  have  been  covered  with  earth,  the  ground 
is  trodden  down  with  the  bare  feet.  The  tobacco 
beds  are  made  in  March,  and  the  plants  become  fit 
for  the  field  in  eight  or  ten  weeks. 

9.  The  field,  in  which  the  cultivation  of  the  crop  is 
to  be  continued,  is  ploughed  two  or  three  times,  and 
then  cross-ploughed  into  equal  checks,  in  each  of 
which  is  made  a  hill.  Immediately  after  a  rain,  the 
plants  are  transferred  to  these  hills,  in  the  same  man¬ 
ner  in  which  cabbages  are  transplanted.  While  the 
tobacco  is  growing,  the  ground  is  ploughed  several 
times,  in  order  to  keep  it  light,  and  to  aid  in  destroy¬ 
ing  the  weeds.  When  the  plants  are  nearly  grown, 
the  tops  are  loppefd  or  cut  off,  to  prevent  them  from 
running  to  seed,  and  to  cause  the  leaves  to  grow 
larger  and  thicker. 

10.  In  July  or  August,  the  tobacco-worms  begin  to 
make  their  appearance,  and  to  threaten  the  whole 
crop  with  destruction.  To  arrest  the  ravages  of 
these  insidious  enemies,  all  hands,  both  great  and 
small,  together  with  all  the  turkeys  that  can  be  mus¬ 
tered,  are  brought  into  the  field.  These  worms  are 

P 


62 


THE  TOBACCONIST. 


produced  from  the  eggs  of  a  large  insect,  called  the 
horn-bug. 

11.  The  tobacco,  when  ripe,  is  cut  near  the  ground, 
and  hung  on  small  sticks  about  five  feet  in  length, 
generally  by  pegs  driven  into  the  stalks.  These 
sticks  are  then  laid  upon  poles,  arranged  at  proper 
distances  from  each  other  in  the  tobacco-house,  shed, 
or  hovel,  as  the  case  may  be.  It  is  then  suffered  to 
dry  gradually  in  the  atmosphere  ;  or  a  large  fire  is 
made  in  the  tobacco-house,  to  effect  the  drying  more 
rapidly. 

12.  The  leaves  are  next  stripped  from  the  stalks, 
and  tied  in  small  bunches  according  to  their  quality. 
This  can  only  be  done  when  in  order ,  or  rather,  when 
the  leaves  are  rendered  tough  by  the  absorption  of 
moisture  from  the  atmosphere.  These  bunches,  when 
the  leaves  are  so  damp  that  they  will  not  break,  and 
so  dry  that  they  will  not  heat,  are  packed  in  hogs¬ 
heads  by  the  aid  of  a  large  lever  press.  The  tobac¬ 
co  is  inspected  in  public  warehouses,  by  men  who 
have  been  appointed  for  the  purpose  by  the  public 
authorities. 

THE  TOBACCONIST. 

1.  It  is  the  business  of  the  tobacconist  to  convert 
the  leaves  of  the  tobacco  plant  into  snuff,  cigars,  and 
smoking  and  chewing  tobacco. 

2.  Although  there  may  seem  to  be  a  great  variety 
of  snuffs,  yet  they  may  be  all  reduced  to  three  kinds, 
viz.,  Scotch,  rappee,  and  maccouba.  These  are  va¬ 
riously  modified  by  the  quality  of  the  tobacco,  by 
some  little  variation  in  the  manufacture,  and  by  the 
articles  employed  in  communicating  the  desired  fla¬ 
vour. 

3.  In  manufacturing  snuff,  the  tobacco  is  ground 
in  a  mill  of  a  peculiar  construction.  Before  the  weed 
is  submitted  to  this  operation,  it  is  reduced  to  a  cer- 


THE  TOBACCONIST. 


63 


tain  degree  of  fineness,  by  means  of  a  cutting  ma¬ 
chine  ;  and  then  spread  in  a  heap,  one  or  tv\*o  feet 
thick,  and  sprinkled  with  water,  that  it  may  heat  and 
sweat.  The  time  required  in  this  preparation  de¬ 
pends  upon  the  state  of  the  weather,  and  the  kind  of 
snuff  for  which  the  tobacco  is  designed. 

4.  Scotch  snuff  is  made  of  the  strongest  sort  of 
tobacco,  and  is  put  up  in  bladders  and  bottles  without 
being  scented.  Rappee  and  maccouba  are  put  up  in 
jars  and  bottles ;  and  the  former  is  generally  scented 
with  bergamot,  and  the  latter  with  the  ottar  of  roses. 
Sometimes,  several  ingredients,  agreeable  to  the  ol¬ 
factory  nerves,  are  employed. 

5.  Cigars  are  composed  of  two  parts,  called  the 
wrapper  and  the  filling.  The  former  is  made  of  pie¬ 
ces  of  thin  leaves,  cut  to  a  proper  shape,  and  the  lat¬ 
ter  of  those  which  are  more  broken.  In  all  cases, 
the  leaves  used  in  the  manufacture  of  cigars  are  de¬ 
prived  of  the  stems,  which  are  reserved,  either  to  be 
converted  into  inferior  kinds  of  snuff,  or  for  exporta 
tion  to  Holland,  where  they  are  usually  flattened  be 
tween  rollers,  and  afterwards  cut  fine  for  smoking 
tobacco,  to  be  sold  to  the  poorer  class  of  people. 

6.  The  value  of  cigars  depends  chiefly  on  the  qual¬ 
ity  of  the  tobacco.  The  best  kind  for  this  purpose, 
grows  on  the  island  of  Cuba,  near  Havana.  Tobac¬ 
co  from  this  seed  is  raised  in  many  other  places  ;  and 
such,  among  tobacconists,  is  called  seed  ;  but  it  pass¬ 
es,  among  smokers  of  limited  experience,  for  the  real 
Havana.  A  very  fine  silky  tobacco  of  this  sort,  is 
cultivated  in  Connecticut,  which  is  much  esteemed. 

7.  An  expert  hand  will  make  five  or  six  hundred 
Spanish  cigars  in  a  day,  or  from  one  thousand  to  fif¬ 
teen  hundred  of  those  composed  of  Maryland  or  Ken¬ 
tucky  tobacco.  Making  cigars,  being  light  work,  is 
well  adapted  to  females,  of  whom  great  numbers  are 
regularly  employed  in  this  branch  of  business.  To- 


64 


THE  TOBACCONIST. 


bacco  jntended  for  the  pipe,  is  cut  in  a  machine  ;  and, 
after  Having  been  properly  dried,  it  is  put  up  in  pa¬ 
pers  of  different  sizes. 

8.  Chewing  tobacco  is  almost  exclusively  prepared 
from  the  species  of  this  plant  which  is  cultivated  in 
Virginia,  chiefly  in  the  vicinity  of  James  river.  It  is 
better  adapted  to  this  purpose  than  any  other,  on  ac¬ 
count  of  its  superior  strength,  and  the  great  amount 
of  resinous  matter  which  it  contains. 

9.  The  first  operation  in  preparing  chewing  tobac¬ 
co,  is  that  of  depriving  the  leaves  of  the  stems.  The 
former  are  then  twisted  by  hand  into  plugs  of  differ¬ 
ent  sizes,  or  spun  into  a  continued  thread  by  the  aid 
of  the  tobacco -wheel,  which  is  a  simple  machine  moved 
by  a  crank.  The  thread  thus  produced  is  formed 
into  bunches,  or  twists,  containing  a  definite  amount 
of  tobacco. 

10.  The  tobacco,  having  been  put  into  the  form 
desired,  is  moistened  with  water,  packed  in  strong 
kegs,  and  then  pressed  with  powerful  screw-presses. 
The  whole  process  is  completed  by  heating  the  kegs, 
with  their  contents,  for  several  days,  in  an  oven  or  a 
tight  room  made  for  the  purpose.  The  same  change 
in  the  quality  of  the  tobacco  is  also  produced  by  suffer¬ 
ing  it  to  stand  nine  or  twelve  months,  before  it  is  dis- 
posed  of  to  the  consumers. 

11.  Snuff  is  very  commonly  used  in  the  Southern 
states,  as  a  dentifrice  ;  or,  at  least,  it  is  applied  to  the 
teeth  with  this  ostensible  object.  The  application  is 
made- by  means  of  a  small  stick,  having  the  fibres 
minutely  divided  at  one  end.  Although  the  tobacco 
seems  to  have  the  desired  effect  upon  the  teeth,  so  far 
as  respects  their  appearance,  yet  its  stimulating  and 
narcotic  powers  are  more  to  be  dreaded  in  this  mode 
of  using  it  than  in  any  other.  Many  females  ruin 
their  complexion  and  constitution,  by  rubbing  snuff ; 


THE  TOBACCONIST. 


65 


and  the  deleterious  effects  of  the  practice  are  so  well 
known,  that  few  are  willing  to  avow  it. 

12.  Tobacco  is  used,  in  some  one  of  its  various 
forms,  by  a  great  majority  of  mankind  ;  and,  although 
it  is  generally  acknowledged  to  be,  in  most  cases,  in¬ 
jurious  to  the  constitution,  and  often  destructive  of 
health,  yet  its  consumption  seems  to  be  on  the  in¬ 
crease.  It  is  one  of  the  objects  of  trade,  even  in  the 
most  obscure  parts  of  the  world;  and  its  devotees 
must  and  will  have  a  supply,  even  though  they  stint 
themselves  in  food  and  clothing. 

13.  As  regards  the  influence  which  this  plant  as¬ 
sumes  over  its  votaries,  it  may  be  classed  with  alco¬ 
hol  and  opium  ;  although  its  effects  are  not  so  de¬ 
structive  ;  nor  is  the  expense  so  considerable  ;  yet 
this  is  an  item  by  no  means  unworthy  of  attention,  as 
the  aggregate  sum  annually  expended  for  this  useless 
narcotic  in  the  United  States,  would  be  sufficient  for 
the  support  of  common  schools  in  every  part  of  the 
country. 

14.  The  general  use  of  tobacco  is  perpetuated  from 
generation  to  generation,  by  the  desire,  common  to 
children  and  young  people,  to  act  and  appear  like 
older  persons.  Few  ever  begin  the  use  of  this  nau¬ 
seous  weed,  because  it  is  agreeable  to  the  senses  to 
which  it  is  applied  ;  but  because  they  fancy,  in  their 
childish  simplicity,  that  it  confers  upon  them  some 
additional  importance. 

F  2 


THE  MANUFACTURER  OF  CLOTH. 

1.  Men,  in  the  primitive  ages,  were  clad  with  the 
skins  of  animals,  until  they  had  acquired  sufficient 
skill  to  employ  a  better  material.  It  cannot  be  deter¬ 
mined  from  history,  at  what  time  cloth  began  to  be 
manufactured  from  animal  or  vegetable  fibre  ;  but  it 
is  evident,  that  it  was  done  at  a  very  early  period, 
even  long  before  the  flood. 

2.  The  fibres  of  the  vegetable  kind,  most  common¬ 
ly  applied  to  this  purpose,  are  the  bark  of  several 
kinds  of  trees,  together  with  hemp,  flax,  and  cotton  ; 
and  those  of  the  animal  kingdom  are,  silk,  the  wool 
of  the  sheep  and  lama,  and  the  hair,  or  wool,  of  the 
goat  and  camel. 

3.  That  the  general  process  of  manufacturing  cloth 
may  be  perfectly  understood,  the  manner  of  perform- 


THE  MANUFACTURER  OF  CLOTH.  67 

ing  several  operations  must  be  separately  described. 
For  the  purpose  of  illustration,  cotton,  wool,  and  flax, 
will  be  selected  ;  because  these  are  the  materials  of 
which  our  clothing  is  principally  fabricated.  The 
operations  of  making  cloth,  may  be  comprised  under 
carding  and  combing ,  spinning ,  weaving ,  and  dressing . 

4.  Carding  and  Combing. — Wool  and  cotton  are 
carded,  with  the  view  of  disentangling  the  fibres,  and 
arranging  them  longitudinally  in  small  rolls.  This  is 
done  by  means  of  the  teeth  of  two  instruments,  called 
cards,  used  by  hand  on  the  knee,  or  by  the  carding 
machine,  which  acts  on  the  same  principle,  although 
far  more  expeditiously. 

5.  Machines  for  carding  wool  are  to  be  found  in 
every  district  of  country  in  the  United  States,  in 
which  the  people  manufacture  much  of  their  woollen 
cloths  in  their  own  families.  On  account  of  the  rough- 
ness  of  the  fibres  of  wool,  it  is  necessary  to  cover  them 
well  with  grease  or  oil,  that  they  may  move  freely  on 
each  other  during  the  carding  and  spinning. 

6.  Long,  coarse,  or  hard  wools,  used  in  the  man¬ 
ufacture  of  camlets,  bombazines,  Circassians,  and  oth¬ 
er  worsted  fabrics,  are  not  carded,  but  combed.  In 
England,  and  in  other  countries  where  much  of  this 
kind  of  wool  is  used,  wool-combing  forms  a  distinct 
trade.  The  operation  consists,  chiefly,  in  drawing 
the  locks  through  steel  combs,  the  teeth  of  which  are 
similar  to  our  common  flax-hatchel.  The  comb  is 
heated  to  a  certain  temperature,  to  cause  the  fibres 
to  straighten,  and  to  remove  from  them  the  rough¬ 
ness  which  might  otherwise  cause  the  cloth  made  of 
them  to  thicken  in  washing,  like  flannel. 

7.  The  old  method  of  combing  wool,  however,  has 
been  in  part  superseded  by  the  application  of  ma¬ 
chines,  the  first  of  which  was  invented  by  Edmund 
Cartwright,  of  England,  about  the  year  1790.  The 
fibres  of  flax  are  arranged  in  a  parallel  direction, 


68  THE  MANUFACTURER  OF  CLOTH. 


and  freed  from  tow,  by  drawing  them  through  a 
hatchel. 

8.  Spinning. — The  process  of  spinning  consists  in 
twisting  the  fibres  into  threads.  The  most  simple 
method  by  which  this  is  effected,  is  that  by  the  com- 
mon  spinning-wheel.  Of  this  well-known  machine 
there  are  two  kinds ;  one  of  which  is  applied  to  spin¬ 
ning  wool,  cotton,  and  tow,  and  the  other,  to  spinning 
flax. 

9.  This  operation  is,  in  most  cases,  performed  by 
females  in  the  following  manner.  The  roll  of  cotton 
or  wool  is  attached  to  the  spindle,  which  is  put  in 
rapid  motion  by  a  band  passing  over  it  from  the  rim, 
or  periphery  of  the  wheel.  While  the  spinster  is 
turning  the  wheel  with  the  right  hand,  she  brings  back 
from  the  spindle  her  left,  with  which  she  has  laid  hold 
of  the  roll  a  few  inches  from  the  upper  end.  When 
the  yarn  thus  produced  has  been  sufficiently  twisted, 
she  turns  it  upon  the  spindle,  and  repeats  the  same 
operation,  until  it  is  full.  This  yarn  is  formed  into 
skeins  by  winding  it  upon  a  reel. 

10.  The  mode  of  spinning  tow  is  a  little  different. 
The  material  having  been  formed  into  bats  by  hand- 
cards,  the  fibres  are  drawn  out  from  between  the 
fingers  and  thumb  by  the  twisted  thread,  while  the 
spinster  gradually  moves  backward.  Worsted  is  spun 
from  combed  wool  nearly  in  the  same  manner. 

11.  The  flax  or  little  wheel  is  moved  by  the  foot, 
so  that  both  hands  of  the  spinster  are  used  in  supply¬ 
ing,  disposing,  and  occasionally  wetting  the  fibres,  as 
they  are  drawn  from  the  distaff.  Two  bands  pass 
from  the  periphery  of  the  wheel,  each  of  which  per¬ 
forms  a  distinct  office  :  the  one  keeps  in  motion  the 
spindle,  which  twists  the  thread  ;  the  other  moves  the 
fliers,  which  wind  the  thread  upon  a  spool,  as  fast  as 
it  is  produced. 

12.  Spinning  was  almost  exclusively  performed  in 


THE  MANUFACTURER  OF  CLOTH.  69 


the  modes  just  described,  until  the  year  1767,  when 
Richard  Heargreaves,  of  England,  invented  a  machine 
for  spinning  cotton,  which  he  called  a  jenny.  This 
consisted,  at  first,  of  eight  spindles,  moved  by  a  com¬ 
mon  wheel,  or  cylinder,  which  was  turned  by  hand. 
The  number  of  spindles  was  afterwards  increased  to 
eighty-four. 

13.  In  1769,  Richard  Arkwright,  also  an  English¬ 
man,  invented  the  water -spinning-frame.  The  essen¬ 
tial  and  most  important  feature  of  this  invention,  con¬ 
sists  in  drawing  out  the  cotton,  by  causing  it  to  pass 
between  successive  pairs  of  rollers,  which  revolve  with 
different  velocities,  and  which  act  as  substitutes  for 
the  thumb  and  fingers,  as  applied  in  common  spin¬ 
ning.  These  rollers  are  combined  with  the  spindle 
and  fliers  of  the  common  flax-wheel. 

14.  Another  machine  was  invented  by  Samuel 
Crompton,  in  1779.  It  is  called  a  mule,  because  it 
combines  the  principles  of  the  two  preceding  machines. 
It  produces  finer  yarn  than  either  of  them,  and  has 
nearly  superseded  the  jenny.  Before  the  cotton  is 
submitted  to  the  spinning  machine,  it  is  prepared  by 
several  others,  by  which  it  is  carded,  extended,  and 
partially  twisted. 

15.  In  the  manufactories,  the  fine,  short  wools, 
used  in  the  fabrication  of  broadcloths,  flannels,  and  a 
variety  of  other  cloths,  are  carded  by  machinery,  and 
spun  on  a  stubbing  or  roving-machine,  or  on  a  jenny 
or  mule,  in  each  of  which  the  spindles  are  mounted  on 
a  carriage,  which  is  moved  backwards  in  stretching 
and  twisting  the  material,  and  forwards  in  winding 
the  thread  upon  the  spindle. 

16.  Worsted  still  continues  to  be  spun,  in  most 
cases,  on  the  common  spinning-wheel,  as  it  can  be 
done  more  perfectly  in  this  way,  than  by  any  other 
machine  which  has  hitherto  been  invented.  Several 
machines  have  been  constructed,  which  spin  coarse 


70  THE  MANUFACTURER  OF  CLOTH. 

threads  of  flax  very  well,  and  with  great  rapidity ; 
but  the  materials  for  fine  linen  fabrics  are  still  spun 
on  the  ancient  flax-wheel. 

17.  Weaving. — The  first  step  preparatory  to  weav¬ 
ing,  is  to  form  a  warp,  consisting  of  a  number  of 
threads,  which  extend  through  the  whole  piece.  To 
produce  this  parallel  arrangement,  the  yarn  is  wound 
upon  spools,  which  are  afterwards  placed  in  a  frame 
perpendicularly  by  means  of  rods,  on  which  they 
move  as  upon  an  axle.  From  these  spools,  the  yarns 
are  stretched  upon  pegs  to  the  length  of  the  proposed 
web,  and  are  carried  round  or  doubled  a  sufficient 
number  of  times  to  make  it  the  proper  width.  The 
same  object  is  more  expeditiously  effected,  by  wind¬ 
ing  the  yarn  spirally  on  a  revolving  frame. 

18.  The  next  step  consists  in  winding  the  warp  on 
a  cylindrical  beam,  which  is  usually  about  ten  inches 
in  diameter.  The  threads,  having  been  put  through 
a  harness,  composed  of  moveable  parts,  called  heddles , 
and  also  through  a  sley,  or  reed,  are  fastened  on  the 
other  side  to  a  large  rod,  from  which  three  ropes  ex¬ 
tend  to  another  cylinder,  on  which  the  cloth  is  wound, 
as  fast  as  it  is  woven. 

19.  The  heddles  are  suspended  from  cross-pieces, 
on  the  top  of  the  loom,  by  means  of  cords  and  pul¬ 
leys,  and,  during  the  operation  of  weaving,  are  mo¬ 
ved  up  and  down  alternately  by  the  aid  of  treadles . 
This  reciprocal  motion  causes  the  web  to  open  ;  and, 
while  in  this  position,  a  shuttle,  containing  the  vioof 
weft ,  or  filling  on  a  quill  or  bobbin,  is  passed  through 
from  right  to  left,  or  from  left  to  right,  as  often  as 
the  position  of  the  warp  is  changed.  The  threads  of 
the  filling  are  beaten  up  by  the  reed,  or  sley,  which 
is  placed  in  the  lay. 

20.  Weaving  is  a  business  extensive  in  its  applica¬ 
tion,  being  divided  into  almost  as  many  branches  as 
there  are  woven  fabrics.  Plain  cotton,  linen,  wool- 


THE  MANUFACTURER  OF  CLOTH.  71 

len,  and  twilled  cloths,  silks,  satins,  carpets,  &c.,  are 
all  woven  in  looms  of  some  kind,  constructed  on  the 
same  general  principles.  Power-looms,  driven  by 
water  or  steam,  are  now  generally  introduced  into 
the  cotton  and  woollen  manufactories,  both  in  Europe 
and  in  this  country.  One  person  can  attend  to  two 
of  these  looms  at  the  same  time,  and  each  one  will 
weave  between  twenty  and  forty  yards  in  a  day. 

21.  Dressing. — Cotton  fabrics,  when  the  webs  are 
taken  from  the  loom,  are  covered  with  an  irregular 
nap,  or  down,  formed  by  the  protruding  ends  of  the 
fibres.  From  the  finest  cottons,  this  is  removed,  by 
drawing  them  rapidly  over  an  iron  cylinder,  kept  red- 
hot  by  a  fire  within.  The  flame  of  coal-gas  has  re¬ 
cently  been  applied,  to  effect  the  same  object. 

22.  Common  domestic  fabrics  are  taken  from  the 
loom,  and,  without  further  preparation,  are  folded  up 
into  pieces  for  sale.  Finer  articles  are  usually  whi¬ 
tened  and  calendered,  before  they  pass  from  the  hand 
of  the  manufacturer.  Stuffs  of  all  kinds,  made  of  ve¬ 
getable  fibres,  are  now  whitened  by  immersing  them 
in  a  solution  of  oxymuriate  of  lime.  Cotton  and  lin¬ 
en  goods,  with  a  view  of  making  them  smooth  and 
glossy,  are  calendered,  or  pressed,  between  steel  roll¬ 
ers. 

23.  Many  of  the  fine  cottons  are  converted  into 
calicoes,  by  transferring  to  them  various  colors.  The 
process  by  which  this  is  done,  is  called  calico-print¬ 
ing,  which  will  be  described  in  a  separate  article. 

24.  The  texture  of  the  fabrics  made  of  worsted,  or 
long  wool,  is  completed,  when  issued  from  the  loom. 
The  pieces  are  subsequently  dyed,  and  then  pressed 
between  heated  metallic  plates,  to  communicate  to 
them  the  required  gloss.  But  weaving  does  not  al¬ 
ways  complete  the  texture  of  the  stuffs  made  of  the 
short  wools.  When  taken  from  the  loom,  the  web 
is  too  loose  and  open,  to  answer  the  purposes  to 


72  THE  MANUFACTURER  OF  CLOTH. 

which  such  cloths  are  usually  applied.  It  is,  there¬ 
fore,  submitted  to  another  process,  called  fulling. 

25.  Fulling ,  in  common  with  almost  every  other 
operation  pertaining  to  the  manufacture  of  cloth,  con¬ 
stitutes  a  separate  trade.  The  art  is  only  applied  to 
stuffs  composed  of  wool,  or  hair,  as  these  only  possess 
the  properties  which  render  it  applicable.  The  prac¬ 
ticability  of  fulling  cloth  depends  on  a  certain  rough¬ 
ness  of  the  fibres,  which  admits  of  motion  in  one  way, 
and  retards  it  in  another.  This  may  be  more  fully 
understood  by  consulting  the  article  on  making  hats. 

26.  The  cloth,  having  been  prepared  by  a  proper 
cleansing,  is  deposited  in  a  strong  box,  with  a  quan¬ 
tity  of  water  and  fuller’s  earth  or  soap,  and  submitted 
to  the  action  of  the  pestles,  or  stampers,  which  are 
moved  in  a  horizontal  direction,  backwards  and  for¬ 
wards,  by  means  of  appropriate  machinery.  This 
operation  reduces  the  dimensions  of  the  cloth,  and 
greatly  improves  the  beauty  and  stability  of  the  tex¬ 
ture.  The  cloth  is  afterwards  dried  in  the  open  air 
on  frames  prepared  for  the  purpose. 

27.  After  the  cloth  has  been  dyed,  a  nap  is  raised 
on  one  side  of  it  by  means  of  the  common  teazle. 
The  nap  is  next  cut  off  to  an  even  surface.  This  was 
formerly  done  with  a  huge  pair  of  shears  ;  but,  with¬ 
in  a  few  years,  it  has  most  commonly  been  effected 
by  a  machine,  the  essential  part  of  which  is  a  spiral 
blade,  that  revolves  in  contact  with  another  blade, 
while  the  cloth  is  stretched  over  a  bed,  or  support, 
just  near  enough  for  the  projecting  filaments  to  be 
cut  off  at  a  uniform  length,  without  injuring  the  main 
texture.  Pressing  and  folding  the  cloth  complete 
the  whole  process. 

28.  A  great  proportion  of  the  woollen  fabrics  worn 
in  the  United  States,  are  manufactured  in  families, 
part  of  which  is  sent  to  the  clothiers  to  be  dressed. 
Much  cotton  yarn,  spun  at  the  manufactories,  is  pur- 


THE  MANUFACTURER  OF  CLOTH.  73 

chased  for  domestic  use.  Formerly,  the  raw  mate¬ 
rial  was  procured,  and  spun  into  yarn  on  the  big 
wheel.  Coarse  linens  are  also  extensively  manufac¬ 
tured  in  families,  especially  among  the  German  pop¬ 
ulation. 

29.  The  manufacture  of  cloth  from  wool  was  in¬ 
troduced  into  Britain  by  the  Romans,  some  time  in 
the  Augustan  age.  At  Winchester,  they  conducted 
the  business  on  a  scale  sufficiently  large  to  supply 
their  army.  After  the  Romans  withdrew  from  the 
island,  in  the  fifth  century,  the  art  was  comparatively 
neglected,  and  gradually  declined,  until  the  reign  of 
Edward  III.  This  monarch  invited  into  his  domin¬ 
ions  workmen  from  Flanders,  in  which  country  the 
manufacture  had,  for  a  long  time,  been  in  a  flourish¬ 
ing  condition. 

30.  Shortly  after  the  first  immigration  of  the  Flem¬ 
ish  manufacturers  into  England,  an  act  was  passed 
prohibiting  the  wearing  of  cloths  made  in  any  other 
country  ;  and,  in  the  time  of  Elizabeth,  the  manufac¬ 
ture  had  become  so  extensive,  that  the  exportation  of 
the  raw  material  was  forbidden  by  law. 

31.  It  is  supposed  that  there  are  now,  in  Great 
Britain,  thirty  millions  of  sheep  ;  whose  annual  prod¬ 
uce  of  wool  is  worth,  on  an  average,  about  seven 
millions  of  pounds  sterling  ;  to  this  may  be  added  five 
millions  of  pounds  weight  from  foreign  countries. 
This  amount  is  increased  in  value,  by  manufacturing 
skill,  to  twenty  or  thirty  millions  of  pounds.  Not 
less  than  three  millions  of  persons  are  supposed  to  be 
employed  in  this  branch  of  British  industry. 

32.  Both  the  woollen  and  cotton  manufactures  have 
arisen  to  great  importance,  of  late  years,  in  the  Uni¬ 
ted  States ;  and,  from  the  mechanical  skill  of  our 
countrymen,  the  abundance  of  the  raw  material,  and 
the  vast  amount  of  water-power,  there  is  every  rea- 

G 


74  THE  MANUFACTURER  OF  CLOTH. 

son  to  anticipate  a  rapid  and  continual  increase  in 
these  divisions  of  American  enterprise. 

THE  SILK-WORM. 

1.  Silk  is  the  production  of  a  worm,  of  the  cater¬ 
pillar  species,  which,  in  due  course,  passes  through 
several  transformations,  and  at  length  becomes  a 
butterfly,  like  others  of  the  genus.  It  is  produced 
from  an  egg,  and  when  about  to  die,  or  rather  again 
to  change  its  form,  spins  for  itself  an  envelope,  called 
a  cocoon.  The  worm  then  changes  to  a  chrysalis, 
and,  after  remaining  in  this  state  from  5  to  8  days, 
the  butterfly,  or  moth,  comes  out,  forcing  its  way 
through  the  cocoon.  The  moths,  or  butterflies,  eat 
nothing,  and  die  as  soon  as  they  have  provided  for 
the  propagation  of  their  species.  Enough  of  these 
are  suffered  to  come  to  maturity,  to  provide  a  suffi¬ 
cient  stock  of  eggs.  The  rest  are  killed,  in  a  few 
days  after  they  have  spun  their  task,  either  by  heat¬ 
ing  them  in  an  oven,  or  by  exposing  them  to  the  rays 
of  the  sun. 

2.  The  fibres  are  wound  upon  a  reel.  To  render 
this  practicable,  the  cocoons  are  put  into  water  heat¬ 
ed  to  a  suitable  temperature,  which  dissolves  the  gum¬ 
my  substance  that  holds  the  fibres  together.  A  num¬ 
ber  of  threads  being  detached,  and  passed  through  a 
hole  in  an  iron  bar,  form,  by  the  aid  of  the  remain¬ 
ing  glutinous  matter,  one  thread,  which  is  wound  upon 
a  reel  into  skeins. 

3.  The  raw  silk,  thus  produced  and  prepared,  is 
sold  to  the  manufacturers,  who  twist  and  double  the 
fibres  variously,  and  finally  form  them  into  threads 
for  sewing ;  or  weave  them  into  a  great  variety  of 
fabrics,  which  are  too  well  known  to  need  particular 
description  here. 

4.  According  to  the  ancients,  the  silk-worm  was 
originally  a  native  of  China,  and  the  neighboring 


THE  MANUFACTURER  OF  CLOTH.  75 

parts  of  Asia,  and  had  there  been  domesticated  for  a 
long  time,  before  it  was  known  in  Europe.  For 
many  years  after  silk  was  sold  among  the  nations  of 
the  West,  even  the  merchants  were  ignorant  of  both 
the  manner  and  place  of  its  production. 

5.  The  Greeks  became  acquainted  with  silk,  soon 
after  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great ;  and  the  Ro¬ 
mans  knew  little  of  the  article,  until  the  reign  of 
Augustus.  Dresses,  composed  entirely  of  this  ma¬ 
terial,  were  seldom  worn  ;  but  the  fabrics  which  had 
been  closely  woven  in  the  East,  were  unravelled,  and 
the  threads  were  recomposed  in  a  looser  texture,  in¬ 
termixed  with  linen  or  woollen  yarn. 

6.  The  prodigal  Heliogabalus  is  said  to  have  been 
the  first  individual,  in  the  Roman  empire,  who  wore  a 
robe  of  pure  silk.  It  is  also  stated,  that  the  Emperor 
Aurelian  refused  his  wife  a  garment  of  this  descrip¬ 
tion,  on  account  of  its  exorbitant  price.  At  that  time, 
as  well  as  at  previous  periods,  it  usually  sold  for  its 
weight  in  gold. 

7.  A  kind  of  gauze,  originally  made  by  the  women 
on  the  island  of  Cos,  was  very  celebrated.  It  was 
dyed  purple,  with  the  substance  usually  employed  in 
communicating  that  colour  in  those  days  ;  but  this 
was  done  before  it  was  woven,  as  in  that  state  it  was 
too  frail  to  admit  of  the  process.  Habits,  made  of 
this  kind  of  stuff,  were  denominated  “  dresses  of 
glass  because  the  body  could  be  seen  through  them. 

8.  The  Roman  empire  had  been  supplied  with  silk 
through  the  medium  of  the  Persians,  until  the  time  of 
Justinian,  in  the  year  555.  This  emperor,  having 
become  indignant  at  the  rapacity  of  the  silk-mer¬ 
chants,  determined,  if  possible,  to  supply  his  people 
from  the  insect  itself. 

9.  After  many  unsuccessful  attempts,  he  at  length 
obtained  a  small  quantity  of  the  eggs  from  India,  by 
the  assistance  of  two  Persian  monks,  who  had  con- 


76  THE  MANUFACTURER  OF  CLOTH. 


trived  to  conceal  them  in  the  hollow  of  their  canes. 
The  seeds  of  the  mulberry-tree,  on  the  leaves  of  which 
the  worm  feeds,  were  also  procured  at  the  same  time, 
together  with  instructions  necessary  for  the  manage¬ 
ment  of  the  worms. 

10.  For  six  hundred  years  after  the  period  just 
mentioned,  the  rearing  of  these  worms,  in  Europe, 
was  confined  to  the  Greek  empire  ;  but,  in  the  twelfth 
century,  Roger,  king  of  Sicily,  introduced  it  into  that 
island,  whence  it  gradually  spread  into  Italy,  Spain, 
France,  and  other  European  countries. 

11.  The  silk-worm  was  introduced  into  England 
by  James  the  First;  but  it  has  never  succeeded  well 
in  that  country,  on  account  of  the  dampness  and  cold¬ 
ness  of  the  climate.  The  manufacture  of  fabrics  from 
silk,  however,  is  there  very  extensive,  the  raw  mate¬ 
rial  being  obtained,  chiefly,  from  Bengal  and  Italy. 
In  the  latter  of  these  countries,  in  France,  and  other 
parts  of  Europe,  as  well  as  in  Asia,  the  manufacture 
is  also  extensive. 

12.  Some  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  rearing  of 
silk-worms  in  the  United  States,  and  attempts  have 
been  made  to  introduce  the  manufacture  of  silks. 
The  mulberry  has  been  planted  in  various  parts  of 
the  Union ;  and  it  is  highly  probable,  that,  in  a  few 
years,  we  shall  be  able  to  obtain  excellent  silks,  with¬ 
out  sending  for  them  to  foreign  countries. 


THE  DYER,  AND  THE  CALICO-PRINTER. 

>  V  '  '  - 

THE  DYER. 

1.  The  art  of  dyeing  consists  in  impregnating  flex¬ 
ible  fibres  with  any  color  which  may  be  desired,  in 
such  a  manner,  that  it  will  remain  permanent,  under 
the  common  exposures  to  which  it  may  be  liable. 

2.  The  union  of  the  coloring  matter  with  the 
fibres  receiving  the  dye,  is  purely  chemical,  and  not 
mechanical,  as  in  the  case  of  the  application  of  paints. 
Wool  has  the  greatest  attraction  for  coloring  sub¬ 
stances  ;  silk  comes  next  to  it ;  then  cotton  ;  and, 
lastly,  hemp  and  flax.  These  materials,  also,  absorb 
dye-stuffs  in  different  proportions. 

3.  Previous  to  the  application  of  the  dye,  the  grea¬ 
sy  substance  which  covers  the  fibres  of  wool,  and  the 
gluey  matter  on  those  of  silk,  are  removed  by  some 

G  2 


78 


THE  DYER. 


kind  of  alkali.  Their  natural  color  is,  also,  dischar- 
ged  by  the  fumes  of  sulphur.  The  resinous  matter 
and  natural  color  of  cotton  and  linen,  are  removed 
by  bleaching. 

4.  The  materials  used  in  dyeing  are  divided  into 
two  classes — substantive  and  adjective.  The  former 
communicates  durable  tints  without  the  aid  of  any 
other  substance  previously  applied  ;  the  latter  re¬ 
quires  the  intervention  of  some  agent  which  possess¬ 
es  an  attraction  for  both  the  coloring  matter  and 
the  stuff  to  be  dyed,  in  order  to  make  the  color  per¬ 
manent.  The  substances  used  for  this  purpose  are 
usually  termed  mordants. 

5.  Agents  capable  of  acting  in  some  way  as  mor¬ 
dants,  are  very  ’numerous ;  but  alumina,  alum,  the 
sulphate  or  acetate  of  iron,  the  muriate  of  tin,  and  nut- 
galls,  are  principally  employed.  The  mordant  not 
only  fixes  the  color,  but,  in  many  cases,  alters  and 
improves  the  tints.  It  is  always  dissolved  in  water, 
in  which  the  stuffs  are  immersed,  previous  to  the  ap¬ 
plication  of  the  dye.  Dyeing  substances  are  also 
very  numerous  ;  but  a  few  of  the  most  important 
have,  in  practice, <  taken  precedence  of  the  others. 

6.  Blue,  red,  yellow,  and  black,  are  the  chief  col¬ 
ors,  for  which  appropriate  coloring  substances  are 
applied  ;  but,  by  a  judicious  combination  of  these 
same  materials,  and  by  a  proper  application  of  mor¬ 
dants,  intermediate  hues  of  every  shade  are  produced  ; 
thus,  a  green  is  communicated  by  forming  a  blue 
ground  of  indigo,  and  then  adding  a  yellow  by  means 
of  quercitron  bark. 

7.  The  blue  dye  is  made  of  indigo  ;  the  red  dye,  of 
madder,  cochineal,  archil,  Brazil-wood,  or  safflowers  ; 
the  yellow  dye,  of  quercitron  bark,  turmeric,  hickory, 
weld,  fustic,  or  saffron  ;  the  black  dye,  of  the  oxide  of 
iron  combined  with  logwood,  or  the  bark  of  the  com¬ 
mon  red,  or  soft  maple,  and  the  sulphate  or  acetate 


THE  DYER. 


79 


of  iron.  The  dyes  made  of  some  of  these  substances 
require  the  aid  of  mordants,  and  those  from  others 
do  not. 

8.  In  communicating  the  intermediate  hues,  the 
different  dye-stuffs  forming  the  leading  colors,  are 
sometimes  mixed  ;  and,  at  other  times,  they  are  made 
into  separate  dyes,  and  applied  in  succession. 

9.  In  this  country,  the  business  of  the  dyer  is  often 
united  with  that  of  the  clothier ;  but,  where  the 
amount  of  business  will  justify  it,  as  in  manufactories, 
and  in  cities  or  large  towns,  it  is  a  separate  business. 
The  dyers  sometimes  confine  their  attention  to  par¬ 
ticular  branches.  Some  dye  wool  only  or  silk,  while 
others  confine  themselves  to  certain  colors,  such  as 
scarlet  and  blue.  The  principal  profits  of  the  dyer, 
when  unconnected  with  manufacturing  establishments, 
arise  from  dyeing  garments  or  stuffs  which  have  been 
partly  worn. 

10.  The  origin  of  the  art  of  dyeing  is  involved  in 
great  obscurity,  as  the  ancients  have  not  furnished 
even  a  fable,  which  might  guide  us  in  our  researches. 
It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  art  must  have  made 
considerable  progress,  long  before  authentic  history 
begins.  Moses  speaks  of  stuffs  dyed  blue,  purple, 
and  scarlet,  and  of  sheep-skins  dyed  red.  The  know¬ 
ledge  of  the  preparation  of  these  colors,  implies  an 
advanced  state  of  the  art,  at  that  early  period. 

11.  Purple  was  the  favorite  color  of  the  ancients, 
and  appears  to  have  been  the  first  which  was  brought 
to  a  state  of  tolerable  perfection.  The  discovery  of 
the  mode  of  communicating  it,  is  stated  to  have  been 
accidental.  A  shepherd’s  dog,  while  on  the  sea-shore, 
incited  by  hunger,  broke  a  shell,  the  contents  of  which 
stained  his  mouth  with  a  beautiful  purple ;  and  the 
circumstance  suggested  the  application  of  the  shell¬ 
fish,  as  a  coloring  substance.  This  discovery  is 


J 


80  THE  DYER.  •. 

thought  to  have  been  made  about  fifteen  hundred 
years  before  the  advent  of  Christ. 

12.  The  Jews  esteemed  this  color  so  highly,  that 
they  consecrated  it  especially  to  the  service  of  the 
Deity,  using  it  in  stuffs  for  decorating  the  tabernacle, 
and  for  the  sacred  vestments  of  the  high. priests. 
The  Babylonians  and  other  idolatrous  nations  clothed 
their  idols  in  habits  of  purple,  and  even  supposed  this 
color  capable  of  appeasing  the  wrath  of  the  gods. 

13.  Among  the  heathen  nations  of  antiquity  gen¬ 
erally,  purple  was  appropriated  to  the  use  of  kings 
and  princes,  to  the  exclusion  of  their  subjects.  In 
Rome,  at  a  later  period,  purple  habits  were  worn  by 
the  chief  officers  of  the  republic,  and,  at  length,  by  the 
opulent,  until  the  emperors  reserved  to  themselves 
the  distinguished  privilege. 

14.  There  were  several  kinds  of  shell-fish,  from 
which  this  coloring  substance  was  obtained,  each  of 
which  communicated  a  shade  somewhat  different  from 
the  others.  The  kind  collected  near  Tyre  was  the 
best ;  and  hence  the  Tyrian  purple  acquired  especial 
celebrity.  So  highly  was  it  esteemed  by  the  Romans, 
in  the  time  of  Augustus,  that  wool  imbued  with  this 
color  was  sold  for  one  thousand  denarii  per  pound, 
which,  in  our  currency,  amounts  to  one  hundred  and 
sixty-eight  dollars. 

15.  After  all,  the  boasted  purple  of  antiquity  is 
supposed  to  have  been  a  very  inferior  dye,  when  com¬ 
pared  with  many  which  we  now  possess  ;  and  this  is 
only  one  among  many  instances,  wherein  modern 
science  has  given  us  a  decided  superiority  over  the 
ancients. 

16.  The  color,  second  in  repute  with  the  people 
of  antiquity,  was  scarlet.  This  color  was  commu¬ 
nicated  by  means  of  an  insect,  called  coccus ,  and  which 
is  now  denominated  kermes.  Besides  the  various 
hues  of  purple  and  scarlet,  several  others  were  in 


THE  DYER. 


81 


some  degree  of  favor ;  such  as  green,  orange,  and 
blue.  The  use  of  vegetable  dyes  appears  to  have 
been  but  little  known  to  the  Romans ;  but  the  Gauls 
had  the  knowledge  of  imparting  various  colors,  even 
the  purple  and  scarlet,  with  the  juice  of  certain  herbs. 

17.  The  irruption  of  the  northern  barbarians  into 
the  Roman  empire,  destroyed  this,  with  the  rest  of 
the  arts  of  civilization,  in  the  western  parts  of  Eu¬ 
rope  ;  but,  having  been  preserved,  more  or  less,  in 
the  East,  it  was  again  revived  in  the  West,  principal¬ 
ly  by  means  of  the  intercourse  arising  from  the  Cru¬ 
sades. 

18.  Although  indigo  seems  to  have  been  known 
to  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans,  yet  it  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  used  for  dyeing.  The  first  that 
was  applied  to  this  purpose  in  Europe,  was  brought 
from  India  by  the  Dutch  ;  but  its  general  use  was  not 
established  without  much  opposition  from  interested 
individuals.  It  was  strictly  prohibited  in  England, 
in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  and,  about  the  same  time, 
in  Saxony.  Many  valuable  acquisitions  were  made 
to  the  materials  employed  in  this  art,  on  the  discovery 
of  America,  among  which  may  be  enumerated,  coch¬ 
ineal,  logwood,  Brazil-wood,  and  Nicaragua,  together 
with  the  soft  maple  and  quercitron  barks. 

19.  The  first  book  on  the  art  of  dyeing  was  pub¬ 
lished  in  1429.  This,  of  course,  appeared  in  man¬ 
uscript,  as  the  art  of  printing  had  not  then  been 
discovered.  An  edition  was  printed  in  1510.  The 
authors  to  whom  the  world  is  most  indebted  for  cor¬ 
rect  information  on  this  subject,  are  Dufuy,  Hallet, 
Macquir,  and  Berthollet,  of  France;  and  Henry  and 
Bancroft,  of  England  ;  all  of  whom  wrote  in  the  eigh¬ 
teenth  century. 


82 


THE  CALICO-PRINTER. 


THE  CALICO-PRINTER. 

1.  Calico-printing  is  a  combination  of  the  arts  of 
dyeing,  engraving,  and  printing,  wherewith  colors  are 
applied  in  definite  figures.  This  art  is  applicable  to 
woven  fabrics,  and  chiefly  to  those  of  which  the  ma¬ 
terial  is  cotton. 

2.  The  first  object,  after  preparing  the  stuffs,  as  in 
dyeing,  is  to  apply  a  mordant  to  those  parts  of  the 
piece  which  are  to  receive  the  color.  This  is  now 
usually  done  by  means  of  a  steel  or  copper  cylinder, 
on  which  have  been  engraved  the  proposed  figures, 
as  on  plates  for  copperplate-printing. 

3.  During  the  printing,  the  cylinder,  in  one  part  of 
its  revolution,  becomes  charged  with  the  mordant, 
the  superfluous  part  of  which  is  scraped  off  by  a 
straight  steel  edge,  leaving  only  the  portion  which 
fills  the  lines  of  the  figures.  As  the  cylinder  re¬ 
volves,  the  cloth  comes  into  forcible  contact  with  it, 
and  receives  the  complete  impression  of  the  figures, 
in  the  pale  color  of  the  mordant. 

4.  The  cloth,  after  having  been  washed  and  dried, 
is  passed  through  the  coloring  bath,  in  which  the  parts 
previously  printed,  become  permanently  dyed  with  the 
intended  color.  Although  the  whole  piece  receives 
the  dye,  yet,  by  washing  the  cloth,  and  bleaching  it  on 
the  grass  in  the  open  air,  the  color  is  discharged  from 
those  parts  not  impregnated  with  the  mordant. 

5.  By  the  use  of  different  mordants,  successively 
applied,  and  a  single  dye,  several  colors  are  often 
communicated  to  the  same  piece  of  cloth ;  thus,  if 
stripes  are  first  made  with  the  acetate  of  alumina,  and 
then  others  with  the  acetate  of  iron,  a  coloring  bath 
of  madder  will  produce  red  and  brown  stripes.  The 
same  mordants,  with  a  dye  of  quercitron  bark,  give 
yellow  and  olive  or  drab. 

6.  Sometimes,  the  second  mordant  is  applied  by 


THE  CALIC  OP  R  I  N  T  E  R. 


83 


means  of  engravings  on  wooden  blocks.  Cuts,  de¬ 
signed  for  this  purpose,  are  engraved  on  the  side  of 
the  grain,  and  not  on  the  end ,  like  those  for  printing 
books. 

7.  Calico-printing,  so  far  as  chemical  affinities  are 
concerned,  is  the  same  with  dyeing.  The  difference 
consists,  chiefly,  in  the  mode  of  applying  the  mate¬ 
rials,  so  as  to  communicate  the  desired  tints  and  fig¬ 
ures.  The  dye-stuffs,  most  commonly  employed  by 
calico-printers,  are  indigo,  madder,  and  quercitron 
bark ;  by  a  dexterous  application  of  these  and  the 
mordants,  a  great  variety  of  colors  can  be  produced. 
Indigo,  being  a  substantive  color,  does  not  require 
the  aid  of  mordants,  but,  like  them,  when  other  dyes 
are  used,  is  applied  directly  to  the  cloth,  sometimes 
by  the  engraved  cylinder  or  block,  and  at  others  with 
the  pencil  by  hand. 

8.  Calico-printing  was  practised  in  India  twenty- 
two  centuries  ago,  when  Alexander  the  Great  visited 
that  country  with  his  victorious  army.  The  opera¬ 
tion  was  then  performed  with  a  pencil.  This  method 
is  still  used  in  the  East  to  the  exclusion  of  every  oth¬ 
er.  The  art  was  also  practised  in  Egypt  in  Pliny’s 
time. 

9.  Calicoes  were  first  brought  to  England  in  the 
year  1631.  They  derive  their  name  from  the  city 
of  Calicut,  whence  they  were  first  exported  to  Eu¬ 
rope.  This  branch  of  business  was  introduced  into 
London  in  the  year  1676.  Since  that  time,  it  has 
been  encouraged  by  several  acts  of  Parliament  ;  but 
it  never  became  extensive  in  England,  until  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  machinery  for  spinning  cotton.  It  is  sup¬ 
posed,  that  the  amount  of  cottons  annually  printed 
in  the  United  States,  cannot  be  less  than  twenty  mil¬ 
lions  of  yards. 


THE  HATTER. 

1.  The  business,  peculiar  to  the  batter,  consists  in 
making  hats  from  the  fur  or  hair  of  animals,  by  the 
process  called  felting.  The  hair  of  animals  is  the 
only  material  which  can  be  firmly  matted  together  in 
this  way  ;  yet,  that  of  every  animal  is  not  suitable  for 
this  purpose.  The  fur  of  the  beaver,  the  otter,  the 
seal,  the  muskrat,  the  rabbit,  the  hare,  the  coney,  and 
the  nutria,  together  with  the  wool  of  the  lama,  sheep, 
and  camel,  are  employed  to  the  exclusion  of  almost 
every  other. 

2.  The  skin  of  all  animals  having  fur,  is  covered 
with  two  kinds  of  hair ;  the  one,  long  and  coarse ; 
the  other,  short,  fine,  and  thickly  set.  The  coarse 
hair  is  pulled  out  from  the  skin,  by  the  aid  of  a  shoe- 
knife,  and  thrown  away,  while  the  fine,  which  is  the 


THE  HATTER. 


85 


fur,  is  cut  from  it  with  one  of  a  circular  form,  such 
as  the  saddlers  and  harness-makers  use  in  cutting 
leather. 

3.  In  the  application  of  the  materials,  the  first  ob¬ 
ject  of  the  hatter  is  to  make  the  body.  In  the  com¬ 
mon  three,  four,  and  five  dollar  hats,  the  body  is  com¬ 
posed  of  the  wool  of  the  sheep  ;  but,  in  those  of  great¬ 
er  value,  it  is  usually  made  of  the  wool  of  the  lama, 
and  different  kinds  of  cheap  furs.  In  describing  the 
process  of  making  hats,  one  of  the  latter  kind  will  be 
selected. 

4.  A  sufficient  quantity  of  the  materials  for  the 
body  is  weighed  out,  and  divided  into  two  equal  parts. 
One  of  these  is  placed  on  a  table,  or,  as  the  hatters 
call  it,  a  hurl.  The  individual  hairs  composing  this 
portion,  are  separated,  and  lightly  and  regularly  spread 
out  into  a  proper  form,  by  the  vibrations  of  a  bow¬ 
string,  which  is  plucked  with  a  wooden  pin. 

5.  The  fur  is  then  carefully  compressed  with  a  flat 
piece  of  wicker-work,  denominated  a  hatter’s  basket, 
and  covered  with  a  damp  piece  of  linen  cloth,  in  which 
it  is  afterwards  folded,  pressed,  and  worked,  with  the 
hands,  until  it  becomes  matted  together  into  a  bat. 
This  bat  is  next  folded  over  a  triangular  piece  of  pa¬ 
per,  and  formed  into  a  conical  cap. 

6.  When  another  bat  has  been  made  in  the  same 
way,  from  the  other  half  of  the  materials,  the  two  are 
put  together  to  form  one,  which  is  then  worked  in  the 
damp  cloth  as  before,  until  it  is  much  contracted  and 
matted  together.  After  this,  having  been  conveyed 
to  another  room,  it  is  rolled  in  a  woollen  cloth,  press¬ 
ed,  rubbed,  and  worked,  with  the  hands  and  a  rolling- 
pin,  around  a  kettle  of  hot  water,  into  which  it  is 
often  plunged  during  the  operation,  which  is  called 
'planking. 

7.  In  this  way,  the  materials  are  consolidated  into 
felt,  and  the  body  contracted  to  the  proper  size.  The 

H 


86 


THE  HATTER. 


reason  why  the  process  just  described  produces  this 
effect,  may  be  found  in  the  nature  of  the  fibres  them- 
selves.  Upon  a  close  examination,  it  will  be  observ¬ 
ed,  that  these  are  covered  with  little  scales,  or  beards, 
which  admit  of  motion  in  one  direction,  but  retard  it 
in  the  other.  This  peculiar  formation  causes  them 
to  interlock  in  such  a  way  as  to  become  closely  mat¬ 
ted  together. 

8.  When  the  body  has  been  dried,  and  shaved  on 
the  knee  with  a  sharp  knife,  to  free  it  from  projecting 
filaments,  it  is  stiffened  with  gum-shellac  dissolved  in 
alcohol,  and  then  steamed  in  a  box,  to  cause  the  stif¬ 
fening  to  set .  It  is  now  prepared  for  being  napped . 

9.  The  fur  for  the  nap  is  prepared  on  the  hurl,  like 
the  conical  cap  first  described.  In  applying  the  nap 
to  the  body,  the  latter  is  wet  with  hot  water,  and 
flakes  of  the  former  are  matted  down  upon  it,  by 
working  it  on  the  planks  around  the  kettle.  After 
three  layers  have  been  put  on  in  this  way,  the  cap  is 
beaten,  while  wet,  with  sticks,  to  raise  the  nap,  and 
then  drawn  over  a  cylindrical  block,  which  gives  it 
the  general  form  of  a  hat. 

10.  The  nap  having  been  raised  with  a  card,  the 
hat  is  prepared  to  be  colored.  The  dye  is  made,  chief¬ 
ly,  of  the  extract  of  logwood,  copperas,  and  verdigris. 
The  hats,  to  the  number  of  forty-eight  or  more,  are 
hung  upon  a  wheel  by  means  of  pegs,  which  pass 
through  the  centre  of  the  blocks.  This  wheel  can  be 
turned,  so  as  to  keep  one  half  of  the  hats  alternately 
in  the  dye.  After  having  been  properly  colored, 
they  are  taken  from  the  blocks,  washed,  and  dried. 

11.  The  hat  is  now  prepared  for  the  finisher ,  who 
first  whips  up  the  nap  with  a  ratan,  and,  after  having 
rendered  it  pliable  with  steam,  draws  it  over  \he  fin¬ 
ishing  -block.  The  fibres  composing  the  nap,  are  prop¬ 
erly  disposed  with  a  card  and  brush,  and  rendered 
smooth  and  glossy  by  means  of  a  hot  iron.  The  su- 


THE  HATTER. 


87 


perfluous  part  of  the  rim  is  cut  off  with  a  blade,  placed 
in  a  gauge.  The  hat  is  finished  by  adding  suitable 
trimmings,  the  nature  of  which,  and  the  mode  of  ap¬ 
plication,  can  be  easily  learned  by  examining  differ¬ 
ent  kinds  of  hats. 

12.  Hats  of  various  colors  have  been  worn  ;  but 
those  most  in  use  are  black,  white,  and  drab.  The 
white  hats,  which  are  intended  only  for  ladies  and 
children,  have  a  nap  of  rabbits’  fur,  selected  from  the 
white  skins.  Drab  hats  are  also  made  of  stuffs  of 
the  natural  color,  assorted  for  that  purpose. 

13.  The  value  of  hats  depends,  of  course,  upon  the 
workmanship,  and  the  cost  of  the  materials  used  in 
the  manufacture.  So  great  is  the  difference  in  these 
respects,  that  their  price  ranges  between  seventy-five 
cents  and  fifteen  dollars.  The  woollen  bodies  used 
by  hatters  are  now  often  procured  from  persons,  who 
devote  their  attention  exclusively  to  their  manufac¬ 
ture. 

14.  Several  years  ago,  woollen  cloths  were  made  in 
England,  by  the  process  of  felting  ;  but,  on  trial,  they 
were  found  to  be  deficient  in  firmness  and  durability. 
Since  the  year  1840,  an  American  citizen  has  been 
manufacturing  cloths  by  this  method ;  but,  whether 
they  are  liable  to  the  objection  just  mentioned,  is  yet 
uncertain. 

15.  Some  kind  of  covering  for  the  head,  either  for 
defence  or  ornament,  appears  to  have  been  usually 
worn  in  all  ages  and  countries,  where  the  inhabitants 
have  made  the  least  progress  in  the  arts  of  civilized 
life. 

16.  The  form,  substance,  and  color,  of  this  article 
of  dress,  have  been  exceedingly  various  in  different 
ages,  according  to  the  circumstances  or  humor  of  the 
wearer.  The  ancient  Persians  wore  turbans,  similar 
to  those  of  the  modern  Turks ;  and  the  nations  in¬ 
habiting  the  Indian  Peninsula,  wore  a  kind  of  head- 


88 


THE  HATTER. 


dress  so  large,  that  it  divested  the  person  of  all  pro¬ 
portion. 

17.  The  imperial  turban  is  said  to  have  been  com¬ 
posed  of  a  great  many  yards  of  muslin,  twisted  and 
formed  into  a  shape  nearly  oval,  and  surmounted  with 
a  woollen  cap,  encircled  with  a  radiated  crown.  The 
turban  of  the  prime  minister  was  smaller  in  its  di¬ 
mensions,  but  of  greater  altitude.  The  chief  magi, 
on  account  of  his  superior  eminence,  wore  a  higher 
turban  than  those  of  the  monarch  and  minister  united. 
Those  worn  by  the  inferior  magi,  were  regulated  by 
the  dignity  of  the  stations  which  they  held. 

18.  The  Jewish  people  and  the  neighboring  nations 
borrowed  the  turban  from  the  Persians  ;  but,  at  a  la¬ 
ter  period,  they  very  commonly  adopted  the  cap  which 
the  Romans  were  accustomed  to  give  to  their  slaves, 
on  their  manumission. 

19.  The  ancient  helmet,  made  of  steel,  brass,  and 
sometimes  of  more  costly  materials,  was  worn  as  a 
piece  of  defensive  armor  in  war,  instead  of  the  ordi¬ 
nary  coverings,  used  while  engaged  in  peaceful  oc¬ 
cupations. 

20.  Roman  citizens  went  bare-headed,  except  upon 
occasions  of  sacred  rites,  games,  and  festivals  ;  or 
when  engaged  in  travelling  or  in  war.  They  were 
accustomed,  however,  in  th6  city,  to  throw  over  their 
head  the  lappet  of  their  toga,  as  a  screen  from  the 
wind  or  sun.  The  people  of  Scotland  used  to  wear 
a  kind  of  bonnet,  as  in  some  parts  of  that  country 
they  do  at  the  present  time  ;  and  the  English,  before 
the  invention  of  felt  hats,  covered  the  head  with  knit 
caps  and  cloth  hoods,  and  sometimes  with  hats  made 
of  thrummed  silk. 

21.  The  Chinese  do  not  wear  hats,  but  use  a  cap 
of  peculiar  structure,  which  the  laws  of  civility  will 
not  allow  them  to  put  off  in  public.  The  form  and 
material  of  this  is  varied  with  the  change  of  the  sea- 


— 


THE  HATTER.  89 

4 

son.  That  used  in  summer  is  shaped  like  a  cone,  is 
made  of  a  beautiful  kind  of  mat,  and  lined  with  satin  ; 
to  this  is  added,  at  the  top,  a  large  tuft  of  red  silk, 
which  falls  all  round  to  the  lower  part  of  the  cap,  and 
which  fluctuates  gracefully  on  all  sides,  while  the 
wearer  is  in  motion.  The  kind  worn  in  winter  is 
made  of  shaggy  cloth,  bordered  with  some  kind  of 
fur,  and  ornamented  in  a  similar  manner. 

22.  Head-dresses,  from  their  variety,  simplicity, 
and  mutability,  were  but  little  regulated  by  commer¬ 
cial  or  manufacturing  interests,  until  the  introduction 
of  felt  hats,  which  has  occasioned  a  uniformity  in  this 
article  of  dress,  unknown  in  former  ages. 

23.  Curiosity  is  naturally  excited  to  become  ac¬ 
quainted  with  the  particulars  of  the  invention  of  the 
hat,  and  the  subsequent  stages  of  improvement  in  the 
manufacture.  But  the  operation  of  individual  inter¬ 
est,  so  generally  connected  with  the  useful  arts,  seems 
to  have  concealed  the  whole  in  obscurity ;  and  little 
information  on  the  subject  can  now  be  obtained. 

24.  The  hatters  have  a  tradition,  that  the  art  of 
felting  originated  with  St.  Clement,  the  fourth  bishop 
of  Rome.  Under  this  impression,  in  Catholic  coun¬ 
tries,  they  adopt  him  as  their  patron  saint,  and  hold  an 
annual  festival  in  his  honor.  The  principle  of  felting 
is  said  to  have  been  suggested  to  his  mind  by  the 
following  circumstance ;  while  fleeing  from  his  per¬ 
secutors,  his  feet  became  blistered,  and,  to  obtain  re¬ 
lief,  he  placed  wool  between  them  and  his  sandals. 
On  continuing  his  journey,  the  wool,  by  the  perspira¬ 
tion,  motion,  and  pressure  of  the  feet,  assumed  a  com¬ 
pact  form. 

25.  Notwithstanding  this  tradition,  it  appears,  that 
felt  hats  were  invented  at  Paris,  by  a  Swiss,  about 
the  commencement  of  the  fifteenth  century  ;  but  they 
were  not  generally  known,  until  Charles  the  Seventh 
made  his  triumphal  entry  into  Rouen,  in  the  year 

H  2 


90 


THE  HATTER. 


1492,  when  he  astonished  the  people  by  wearing  a 
hat,  lined  with  red  silk,  and  surmounted  with  a  plume 
of  feathers. 

26.  When  some  of  the  clergy  first  adopted  this  ar¬ 
ticle  of  dress,  it  was  considered  an  unwarrantable  in¬ 
dulgence.  Councils  were  held,  and  regulations  pub¬ 
lished,  forbidding  any  priest  or  monk  to  appear  abroad 
wearing  a  hat ;  and  enjoining  them  to  keep  to  the  use 
of  chaperons,  or  hoods,  made  of  black  cloth,  with  de¬ 
cent  cornets  ;  if  they  were  poor,  they  were,  at  least 
to  have  cornets  fastened  to  their  hats,  upon  penalty 
of  suspension  and  excommunication. 

27.  At  length,  however,  the  pope  permitted  even 
the  cardinals  to  wear  hats  ;  but,  enjoined  them  to 
wear  those  of  a  red  color  at  public  ceremonials,  in 
token  of  their  readiness  to  spill  their  blood  for  their 
religion. 

28.  In  England,  considerable  opposition  was  made 
to  the  use  of  the  hat.  By  a  statute,  enacted  in  the 
thirteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  every  per¬ 
son  between  certain  ages  was  obliged,  on  Sundays 
and  holidays,  to  wear  a  woollen  cap,  made  by  some 
of  the  cappers  of  that  kingdom,  under  the  penalty  of 
three  shillings  and  four-pence  for  every  day’s  neglect. 
This  law  continued  in  force,  for  about  twenty-five 
years.  The  manufacture  of  hats  was  commenced,  in 
England,  in  the  time  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  by  Dutch¬ 
men  and  Spaniards. 

29.  Hats  made  of  plaited  straw,  grass,  or  chip,  are 
much  used  in  the  summer ;  and  caps  of  cloth  or  fur 
are  now  frequently  substituted  for  hats,  in  cold  weath¬ 
er.  Silk  hats  have  also  been  much  worn,  since  the 
year  1825.  They  are  made  of  the  common  hat  body, 
and  a  texture  of  silk  with  a  long  nan.  The  silk  is 
fastened  to  the  body  with  glue. 


THE  ROPE-MAKER. 

1.  Ropes  may  be  made  of  any  vegetable  substance 
which  has  a  fibre  sufficiently  flexible  and  tenacious. 
The  Chinese  and  other  orientals,  in  making  ropes, 
use  the  ligneous  parts  of  certain  bamboos  and  reeds, 
the  fibrous  covering  of  the  cocoa-nut,  the  filaments  of 
the  cotton  pod,  and  the  leaves  of  certain  grasses  ;  but 
the  bark  of  plants  and  trees,  is  the  most  productive 
of  fibrous  matter  suitable  to  this  manufacture.  That 
of  the  linden. tree,  the  willow,  and  the  bramble  is  fre¬ 
quently  used.  In  Europe  and  America,  however,  the 
fibres  of  hemp  and  flax  are  more  frequently  employ¬ 
ed,  for  this  purpose,  than  any  other  material. 

2.  The  operations  of  rope-making  are  commonly 
performed  in  rope-walks ,  which  are  sometimes  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  length.  These  are  usual- 


92 


THE  R  0  P  E-M  AKER. 


ly  covered  with  a  slight  shed,  the  nature  and  appear¬ 
ance  of  which  are  well  exhibited  in  the  preceding 
picture. 

3.  The  first  part  of  the  process  consists  in  spin¬ 
ning  the  material  into  yarn.  The  principle  on  which 
this  is  effected,  is  the  same  as  that  by  which  cotton 
or  wool  is  drawn  out  and  twisted  into  threads,  al¬ 
though  the  machinery,  and  the  mode  of  operating,  are 
different. 

4.  The  kind  of  wheel  employed  in  spinning  rope- 
yarn,  is  also  exhibited  in  the  cut.  A  band  passes 
around  the  periphery,  and  over  the  semicircle  above 
it,  in  which  is  placed  a  number  of  wheels,  the  pivots 
of  which  terminate,  on  the  other  side,  in  a  small 
hook. 

5.  The  spinner,  having  a  quantity  of  the  material 
properly  disposed  about  the  waist,  attaches  a  number 
of  fibres  to  one  of  the  hooks,  which,  being  put  in  mo¬ 
tion  by  the  band  passing  over  the  whirl,  twists  them 
rapidly  into  yarn.  The  part  already  twisted  draws 
along  with  it  more  fibres  from  the  bundle,  andv  as  the 
spinner  is  regulating  their  uniform  arrangement,  he 
walks  backward  towards  the  other  end  of  the  walk. 

6.  When  the  thread  has  been  spun  to  the  proposed 
length,  the  spinner  cries  out  to  another,  who  imme¬ 
diately  takes  it  off  from  the  hook,  gives  it  to  a  third 
person,  and,  in  turn,  attaches  his  own  fibres  to  the 
same  hook.  In  the  meantime,  the  first  spinner  keeps 
fast  hold  of  the  end  of  his  yarn,  to  prevent  it  from 
untwisting  or  doubling ;  and,  as  it  is  wound  on  the 
reel,  proceeds  up  the  walk,  keeping  the  yarn  of  an 
equal  tension  throughout. 

7.  The  second  part  of  the  process  consists  in  form¬ 
ing  the  yarn  into  various  kinds  of  ropes.  The  com¬ 
ponent  parts  of  cordage  are  called  strands  ;  and  the 
operation  of  uniting  them  with  a  permanent  twist,  is 


THE  ROP  E-M  AKER. 


93 


called  laying ,  when  applied  to  small  ropes,  and  closing , 
when  applied  to  cables  or  other  large  ropes. 

8.  The  simplest  twist  is  formed  of  two  strands. 
The  thread  used  by  sail-makers,  and  pack-thread,  fur¬ 
nish  examples  of  this  kind ;  but  cordage  with  two 
strands  is  not  much  used  ;  that  with  three  is  the  most 
usual.  Lines  and  cords  less  than  one  and  a  half 
inches  in  circumference,  are  laid  by  means  of  the 
spinning-wheel.  Preparatory  to  this  operation,  the 
workman  fastens  the  hither  end  of  the  yarns  to  sep¬ 
arate  whirl-hooks,  and  the  remote  ends  to  the  hook 
of  a  swivel,  called  the  loper. 

9.  The  strands  having  been  properly  distended,  the 
spinning-wheel  is  turned  in  the  same  direction  as  when 
twisting  the  yarns.  A  further  twisting  of  the  strands, 
during  this  part  of  the  process,  is  prevented  by  the 
motion  of  the  loper,  which  gives  way  to  the  strain, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  causes  the  strands  to  entwine 
about  each  other,  and  form  a  cord.  To  prevent  them 
from  entwining  too  rapidly,  an  instrument  is  inter¬ 
posed,  which,  from  its  form,  is  called  the  top.  It  has 
two  or  more  notches,  which  terminate  at  the  apex, 
and  a  handle,  called  a  staff.  As  the  top  is  moved 
from  the  loper  to  the  wheel,  it  regulates  the  degree 
of  twist  which  the  cord  or  rope  is  to  receive. 

10.  The  principle  on  which  large  cordage  is  laid, 
or  closed,  is  the  same,  although  some  part  of  the  ma¬ 
chinery  is  different.  The  strands  for  large  ropes  and 
cables  are  formed  of  many  yarns,  and  require  consid¬ 
erable  hardening.  This  cannot  be  done  with  whirls 
driven  by  a  wheel-band  ;  it  requires  the  power  of  a 
crank,  turned  by  hand,  or  by  some  other  considerable 
force.  The  strands,  also,  when  properly  hardened, 
become  very  stiff,  and,  when  bent  round  the  top,  can¬ 
not  transmit  force  enough  to  close  the  unpliant  rope  : 
it  is,  therefore,  necessary  that  the  loper,  also,  be  mo¬ 
ved  by  a  crank. 


94 


THE  ROP  E-M  AKER. 


11.  Cordage,  which  is  to  be  exposed  to  the  alter¬ 
nate  action  of  air  and  water,  is  usually  tarred.  The 
application  of  this  substance  is  made,  in  most  cases, 
while  the  material  is  in  a  state  of  yarn.  In  effecting 
this  object,  the  threads  are  drawn  through  boiling  tar, 
and  then  passed  between  rollers,  or  through  holes  sur¬ 
rounded  with  oakum,  to  remove  the  superfluous  tar. 
In  like  manner,  ropes  and  cables  are  superficially 
tarred.  • 

12.  Various  improvements  have  been  made  in  the 
machinery,  for  performing  the  different  operations  of 
rope-making  ;  but,  these  not  having  been  generally 
adopted,  it  is  unnecessary  to  notice  them  more  par¬ 
ticularly  ;  especially,  as  they  do  not  affect  the  gen¬ 
eral  principles  of  the  art. 

13.  Within  a  few  years,  cotton-yarn  has  been  em¬ 
ployed  in  the  manufacture  of  ropes  ;  but  this  material 
has  not  yet  been  sufficiently  tested,  to  determine  its 
fitness  for  the  purpose.  A  kind  of  vegetable  fibre, 
brought  from  Manilla,  and  hence  called  Manilla  hemp, 
is  very  extensively  applied  in  making  ropes,  and,  for 
some  purposes,  is  preferred  to  other  materials. 

14.  The  intestines  of  animals  are  composed  of 
very  powerful  fibres,  and  those  of  sheep  and  lambs 
are  manufactured  into  what  is  called  cat-gut,  for  the 
use  of  musical  instrument-makers,  hatters,  watch¬ 
makers,  and  a  variety  of  other  artificers.  Animal 
hair,  as  that  from  the  tail  and  mane  of  horses,  is 
frequently  employed  as  the  material  for  ropes  ;  and 
such  are  durable,  elastic,  and  impervious  to  moisture. 
They,  however,  are  not  applicable  in  cases,  where  the 
rope  is  subject  to  considerable  friction. 

15.  Hemp  is  cultivated  in  various  parts  of  the 
world,  and  especially  in  Russia,  whence  it  is  export¬ 
ed  to  other  countries  in  great  quantities.  It  is  also 
produced,  to  a  considerable  extent,  in  the  state  of  Ken¬ 
tucky,  and  in  many  other  parts  of  the  United  States. 


THE  R  0  P  E-M  AKER. 


95 


Flax  is  still  more  generally  cultivated  than  hemp ; 
but  its  chief  application  is  to  the  manufacture  of  cloth, 
as  it  does  not  answer  well  for  any  cordage  larger 
than  a  bed-cord.  The  formation  of  cloth  from  hemp 
is  also  very  common  ;  and,  in  this  case,  the  yarn  for 
the  coarse  cloths  is  spun  on  the  rope-maker’s  wheel 
in  the  manner  already  described.  The  cloth  is  gen¬ 
erally  used  for  making  bags,  sacking-bottoms  for  beds, 
and  sails  for  vessels. 

16.  Rope-making  is  a  manufacture  of  general  util¬ 
ity,  as  cordage  of  some  kind  is  used  more  or  less  in 
every  family  in  all  civilized  communities  ;  nor  are 
there  many  trades  capable  of  being  carried  on,  with 
convenience,  without  it.  But  the  great  utility  of  cord¬ 
age,  in  all  its  varieties,  is  most  conspicuous  in  the 
rigging  and  equipment  of  vessels  ;  and  the  extensive 
demand  for  it,  in  this  application,  renders  rope-ma¬ 
king  one  of  the  most  important  and  extensive  of  the 
primitive  trades. 

17.  Nor  does  the  utility  of  cordage  end  with  its 
application  to  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  originally 
designed.  Old  ropes  are  converted  into  oakum  by 
untwisting  and  picking  them  to  pieces.  The  oakum 
thus  produced  is  driven  into  the  seams  of  vessels,  to 
render  them  water-tight. 

•  18.  As  regards  the  invention  of  this  art,  nothing 
can  be  gathered  from  ancient  records.  We  only 
know,  in  general,  that  cordage  was  in  considerable 
use  among  the  nations  of  antiquity,  especially  among 
the  Greeks  and  Romans,  who  probably  learned  its  ap. 
plication  to  rigging  vessels  from  the  Phoenicians. 


I 


THE  TAILOR. 

1.  The  business  of  the  tailor  consists,  principally, 
in  cutting  out  and  making  clothes  for  men  and  boys, 
together  with  habits  and  cloaks  for  ladies.  It  is  usu¬ 
al  for  persons  who  carry  on  this  business  in  cities  and 
large  towns,  to  keep  a  stock  of  cloths  and  other  stuffs 
adapted  to  the  season,  which  they  make  up  into  gar¬ 
ments  to  the  order  of  customers.  In  such  cases,  they 
are  termed  merchant  tailors. 

2.  The  operation,  preparatory  to  cutting  out  the 
cloth  for  a  garment,  is  that  of  taking  the  measure  of 
the  person  for  whom  it  is  designed.  This  is  done 
with  a  narrow  strip  of  paper  or  parchment,  and  the 
dimensions  are  either  marked  on  the  measure  with 
the  scissors,  or  entered  in  a  pattern-hoojc  kept  for  the 
purpose. 


THE  TAILOR. 


97 


3.  The  cloth  is  cut  to  the  proper  shape,  with  a 
large  pair  of  shears.  This  is  performed  either  by 
the  individual  who  carries  on  the  business,  or  by  a 
foreman.  The  parts  are  sewed  together,  and  the 
trimmings  applied,  by  means  of  thread  and  silk  ;  this 
is  commonly  done  by  those  who  devote  their  attention 
to  this  branch  of  the  trade.  It  sometimes  happens, 
however,  that  the  same  person  performs  the  whole 
of  the  work,  particularly  in  country  places,  where  the 
business  is  very  limited  in  extent. 

4.  Females  often  serve  an  apprenticeship  to  this 
business.  Many  of  them  learn  to  cut  out,  and  make 
with  skill,  certain  kinds  of  garments,  and  are  after¬ 
wards  employed  in  families,  or  by  the  tailors.  Most 
of  the  ready-made  clothing,  kept  for  sale  in  cities,  is 
made  up  by  females. 

5.  The  instruments  employed  in  performing  the  op¬ 
erations  of  the  tailor,  are  few  and  simple ;  the  prin¬ 
cipal  of  these  are  the  shears,  the  scissors,  the  needle, 
the  thimble,  the  bodkin,  the  goose,  and  the  press- 
board. 

6.  The  great  art  of  a  master  tailor  consists  in  fit¬ 
ting  the  dress  to  his  customer,  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  conceal  any  defect  of  form,  and  display  his  person 
to  the  best  advantage.  He  should,  therefore,  be  a 
good  judge  of  the  human  figure  ;  as,  from  this  knowl¬ 
edge,  arises,  chiefly,  the  superiority  of  one  workman 
over  another  in  this  branch  of  the  business. 

7.  The  first  hint  on  the  art  of  clothing  the  human 
body,  was  given  to  man  by  the  Deity  himself ;  for 
we  read  in  the  Scriptures,  that  ‘‘Unto  Adam  and  to 
his  wife,  the  Lord  God  made  coats  of  skins,  and  cloth¬ 
ed  them.”  From  that  time  to  the  present,  the  art  of 
cutting  out  garments,  and  of  sewing  their  different 
parts  together,  has  been  practised,  more  or  less,  in 
every  place,  where  there  has  been  any  degree  of  civ¬ 
ilization. 


I 


98 


THE  TAILOR. 


8.  For  a  long  time,  it  is  probable,  that  thongs  and 
the  sinews  of  animals  were  used,  for  want  of  thread 
made  of  silk  or  vegetable  fibre  ;  and,  doubtless,  the 
same  necessity  caused  the  substitution  of  pointed 
bones  and  thorns,  instead  of  needles.  Such  rude  ma¬ 
terials  and  instruments  are  still  employed  for  similar 
purposes  by  savage  nations.  The  dresses  of  the  peo¬ 
ple  of  Greenland  are  sewed  together  with  thongs 
made  of  the  intestines  of  the  seal,  or  of  some  fish, 
which  they  have  the  skill  to  cut  fine,  after  having 
dried  them  in  the  air;  and  even  the  inhabitants  of 
Peru,  although  considerably  advanced  in  civilization, 
when  that  country  was  first  visited  by  the  Spaniards, 
made  use  of  long  thorns,  in  sewing  and  fixing  their 
clothes. 

9.  We  have  no  means  of  determining  the  period 
of  the  world,  when  this  art  was  first  practised,  as  a 
particular  profession.  We  know,  in  general,  that  the 
dress  of  the  ancients  was  usually  more  simple  in  its 
construction  than  that  of  the  people  of  modern  times  ; 
and,  consequently,  it  required  less  skill  to  put  the  ma¬ 
terials  in  the  required  form.  It  may,  therefore,  be 
inferred,  that  either  the  females  or  the  slaves  of 
each  family  usually  made  up  the  clothing  of  all  its 
members. 

10.  The  distinguishing  dress  of  the  Romans  was 
the  toga ,  or  gown ;  as  that  of  the  Greeks  was  the 
pallium,  or  cloak.  The  toga  was  a  loose,  woollen 
robe,  and  covered  nearly  the  whole  person ;  it  was 
round  and  close  at  the  bottom,  and  open  at  the  top, 
having  no  sleeves,  but  a  large  flap,  or  lappet,  which 
was  either  thrown  over  the  left  shoulder,  or  over  the 
head,  to  protect  it  from  the  heat  or  cold. 

11.  The  Romans,  at  an  early  period  of  their  his¬ 
tory,  used  no  other  dress,  and  it  was  also,  at  that 
time,  worn  by  the  women.  Afterwards,  they  wore, 
under  the  toga,  a  white  woollen  vest  called  tunica , 


THE  TAILOR. 


99 


which  extended  a  little  below  the  knee.  At  first  it 
was  without  sleeves.  Tunics,  reaching  to  the  ancles, 
or  having  'sleeves,  were  reckoned  effeminate  ;  but, 
under  the  emperors,  they  became  fashionable. 

12.  The  toga  was  usually  assumed  at  the  age  of 
seventeen.  Until  then,  the  youth  wore  a  kind  of 
gown,  bordered  with  purple,  denominated  toga  prce - 
texta  ;  and  such  a  garment  was  also  worn  by  females, 
until  they  were  married.  The  youthful  dress  was 
laid  aside,  and  the  toga  virilis,  or  manly  toga,  assu¬ 
med  with  great  solemnity  ;  as,  by  this  act,  the  indi¬ 
vidual  assumed  the  responsibilities  of  a  citizen.  The 
toga  was  worn  chiefly  in  the  city,  and  only  by  Ro¬ 
man  citizens. 


THE  MILLINER,  and  THE  LADY’S  DRESS-MAKER. 


THE  MILLINER. 

1.  The  milliner  is  one,  who  manufactures  and  re¬ 
pairs  bonnets  and  hats  for  ladies  and  children.  Her 
business  requires  the  use  of  pasteboard,  wire,  buck¬ 
ram,  silks,  satins,  muslins,  ribands,  artificial  flowers, 
spangles,  and  other  materials  too  numerous  to  be 
mentioned. 

2.  The  first  part  of  the  process  of  making  a  hat, 
or  bonnet,  consists  in  forming  a  crown  of  buckram  ; 
which  operation  is  performed  on  a  block  of  suitable 
size  and  shape  ;  and  to  this  is  applied  pasteboard,  or 
buckram,  edged  with  wire,  to  form  the  front  part. 
The  foundation  having  been  thus  laid,  it  is  usually- 
covered  and  lined  with  some  of  the  materials  just 
enumerated,  and  finished  by  applying  to  it  the  trim- 


THE  MILLINER. 


lOx 


mings  required  by  the  fashion,  or  by  the  individual 
customer. 

3.  Ladies’  hats  are  also  made  of  rye  straw,  and  a 
kind  of  grass,  which  grows  in  Italy  ;  those  made  of 
the  latter  material  are  called  Leghorns ,  from  the  name 
of  the  city,  in  or  near  which  they  are  principally  made. 
A  few  years  since,  these  had  almost  superseded  those 
made  of  straw ;  but  the  latter,  of  late,  have  nearly 
regained  their  former  ascendency. 

4.  In  the  United  States,  and  likewise  in  various 
parts  of  Europe,  there  are  several  establishments  for 
making  straw  hats,  in  which  the  proprietors  employ 
females  to  perform  the  whole  labor.  The-  straw  is 
first  cut  into  several  pieces,  so  as  to  leave  out  the 
joints,  and  then  whitened  by  smoking  them  with  the 
fumes  of  brimstone.  They  are  next  split  longitudi¬ 
nally  into  several  pieces  by  a  simple  machine,  and  af¬ 
terwards  plaited  with  the  fingers  and  thumbs.  The 
braid,  or  plait,  thus  produced,  is  sown  together  to  form 
hats  adapted  to  the  prevailing  fashion. 

5.  Great  quantities  of  straw  are,  also,  plaited  in 
families,  especially  in  the  New-England  states,  and 
sold  to  neighboring  merchants,  who,  in  turn,  dispose 
of  it  to  those  who  form  it  into  hats.  The  milliners 
usually  keep  a  supply  of  Leghorn  and  straw  hats, 
which  they  line  and  trim  according  to  the  fancy  of 
their  customers. 

6.  Head-dresses  were  probably  used  nearly  as  early 
as  any  other  part  of  dress  ;  and  their  form  and  mate¬ 
rial  have  likewise  been  equally  variable.  In  the  ear¬ 
ly  days  of  Rome,  the  head-dress  of  the  women  of 
that  city  was  very  simple  ;  and,  when  they  went 
abroad,  which  was  seldom,  they  covered  their  faces 
with  a  veil ;  but,  when  riches  and  luxury  had  in¬ 
creased,  dress  became,  with  many,  the  principal  ob¬ 
ject  of  attention  ;  hence,  a  woman’s  toilet  and  orna¬ 
ments  were  called  her  world . 

I  2 


102  THE  lady’s  dress-maker. 


7.  The  head-dresses  of  the  ladies,  in  various  parts 
of  Europe,  especially  in  the  eighteenth  century,  were 
particularly  extravagant,  being  sometimes  so  high, 
that  the  face  seemed  to  be  nearly  in  the  centre  of 
the  body.  In  1714,  this  fashion  was  at  its  height  in 
France  ;  but  two  English  ladies  visiting  the  court  of 
Versailles,  introduced  the  low  head-dresses  of  their 
own  country. 

8.  The  high  head-dresses  had  no  sooner  fallen  into 
disuse  in  France,  than  they  were  adopted  in  England, 
and  even  carried  to  a  greater  degree  of  extravagance. 
To  build  one  of  these  elevated  structures  in  the  fash¬ 
ionable  style,  both  the  barber  and  milliner  were  ne¬ 
cessary.  The  head-dresses  of  the  ladies  of  the  pres¬ 
ent  age,  are  characterized  by  great  simplicity,  when 
compared  with  those  of  several  periods  in  preceding 
ages. 

THE  LADY’S  DRESS-MAKER. 

1.  This  business  is  nearly  allied  to  the  foregoing, 
and  is,  therefore,  often  carried  on  in  conjunction  with 
it.  This  is  especially  the  case  in  villages  and  small 
towns,  where  sufficient  business  cannot  be  obtained 
in  the  exclusive  pursuit  of  one  branch. 

2.  The  customers  of  the  lady’s  dress-maker  are 
not  always  easily  pleased,  as  they  frequently  expect 
more  from  her  skill  than  it  is  possible  to  accomplish. 
She,  however,  can  do  much  towards  concealing  the 
defects  of  nature  ;  and,  by  padding  and  other  means, 
can  sometimes  render  the  person  tolerably  well  pro¬ 
portioned,  when,  in  its  natural  shape,  it  would  be 
quite  inelegant.  It  is  to  be  regretted,  however,  that 
dress-makers  are  guided  by  fashion  and  whim  in 
moulding  the  external  form  of  females,  rather  than  by 
the  best  specimens  of  the  human  figure,  as  exhibited 
by  eminent  painters  and  sculptors. 

3.  The  dress-maker  should  have  some  acquaint- 


the  lady’s  dress-maker.  103 


ance  with  the  anatomy  and  functions  of  those  parts 
to  which  pressure  is  usually  applied  ;  for,  who  that 
knows  the  structure,  size,  and  office  of  the  liver,  and 
other  internal  organs  of  digestion  and  vitality,  would 
venture  to  apply  to  them  a  compressive  force  calcu¬ 
lated  to  interfere  most  seriously,  if  not  dangerously, 
with  their  healthful  action  ? 

4.  The  fashions  for  ladies’  dresses  are  chiefly  pro¬ 
cured  from  France,  and  the  dress-makers  from  that 
country  are,  therefore,  often  preferred  by  fashionable 
ladies.  Sometimes,  however,  a  dress-maker,  having 
a  name  with  a  French  termination,  will  answer  the 
purpose. 

5.  Corset-making  is  frequently  a  separate  branch 
of  business  ;  but  corsets  have  become  less  necessary  ; 
inasmuch  as  small  waists  are  less  admired  by  the  gen¬ 
tlemen  than  formerly.  On  this  account,  also,  the  la¬ 
dies  have  discovered  that  tight  lacing  is  somewhat 
uncomfortable,  especially  in  hot  weather,  and  in  crowd¬ 
ed  assemblies. 


THE  BARBER. 

1.  It  is  the  business  of  the  barber  to  cut  and  dress 
the  hair,  to  make  wigs  and  false  curls,  and  to  shave 
the  beards  of  other  men.  In  ancient  times,  he  used 
also  to  trim  the  nails  ;  and  even  at  the  present  day, 
in  Turkey,  this  is  a  part  of  his  employment. 

2.  The  period,  when  men  began  to  shave  their 
beards,  is  not  certainly  known.  It  appears  that  the 
practice  was  common  among  the  Israelites  in  the  time 
of  Moses  ;  as  that  legislator  has  left  on  record  a  pro¬ 
hibitory  law  concerning  it.  They  probably  borrowed 
the  custom  from  the  Egyptians.  It  is  stated  by  Plu¬ 
tarch,  that  Alexander  the  Great  ordered  his  men  to 
be  shaved,  that  their  enemies  might  not  lay  hold  of 
their  beards  in  time  of  battle.  Before  this  time,  how¬ 
ever,  many  of  the  Greeks  shaved  their  beards. 


THE  BARBER. 


105 


3.  The  practice  does  not  appear  to  have  been  in¬ 
troduced  amongst  the  ancient  Romans,  until  about 
the  year  296  before  the  Christian  era,  when  Paulus 
Ticinius  Msenas  brought  to  Rome  a  number  of  bar¬ 
bers  from  Sicily.  Scipio  Africanus  was  the  first  man 
who  shaved  his  beard  every  day. 

4.  At  first,  the  barbers  had  no  shops,  but  shaved 
their  customers  at  the  corners  of  the  streets.  After 
a  while,  they  followed  their  vocation  in  shops,  or 
shades  ;  and,  at  this  period,  it  was  customary  for  fe¬ 
males  to  officiate  in  the  various  branches  of  the  art. 
These  places,  however,  were  frequented  only  by  the 
poorer  class  of  the  people,  as  opulent  families  gen¬ 
erally  kept  slaves  for  the  performance  of  these  duties. 
The  day  on  which  a  young  Roman  first  cut  off  his 
beard,  was  celebrated  by  him  and  his  friends  as  one 
of  peculiar  interest ;  and  this  much-desired  indication 
of  manhood  was  consecrated  to  some  one  of  the  gods, 
generally  to  Jupiter  Capitolinus. 

5.  The  return  of  barbarism,  in  the  fifth  and  sixth 
centuries,  banished  this  custom  from  the  Western  em¬ 
pire  ;  nor  was  it  again  revived  in  Europe,  until  the 
seventeenth  century.  During  the  reigns  of  Louis 
XIII.  and  Louis  XIV.  of  France,  both  of  whom  as¬ 
cended  the  throne  in  boyhood,  the  courtiers  and  fash¬ 
ionable  people  began  to  use  the  razor,  that  they  might 
appear  with  smooth  chins,  and  thus  resemble,  in  this 
particular,  the  youthful  monarchs.  From  France,  the 
fashion,  at  length,  spread  all  over  Europe.  At  one 
time,  in  the  reign  of  the  English  queen  Elizabeth,  the 
fellows  of  Lincoln’s  Inn  were  compelled  by  statute 
to  shave  their  beards,  at  least,  once  in  two  weeks. 
Omission  was  punished  with  fine,  loss  of  commons, 
and  finally  with  expulsion. 

6.  The  custom  of  shaving  was  introduced  into 
Russia  by  Peter  the  Great,  who  compelled  his  subjects 
to  pay  a  tax  for  the  privilege  of  retaining  their  beards. 


106 


THE  BARBER. 


This  singular  impost  was  exceedingly  unpopular,  and 
excited  greater  complaints  amongst  the  people  than 
any  other  measure  of  that  emperor.  The  decree  was 
rigidly  enforced,  and  every  one  who  would  not,  or 
could  not,  pay  the  tax,  was  forcibly  deprived  of  this 
favorite  ornament,  if  he  would  not  remove  it  volun. 
tarily.  Some  of  the  people  saved  the  sad  trimmings 
of  their  chins ;  and,  that  they  might  never  be  entire¬ 
ly  separated  from  these  precious  relics,  ordered  that 
they  should  be  deposited  with  their  bodies  in  their 
coffins. 

7.  Among  the  European  nations  that  have  been 
curious  in  whiskers,  the  Spaniards  have  been  partic¬ 
ularly  distinguished  ;  and  the  loss  of  honor  among 
them  used  to  be  punished  by  depriving  the  individual 
of  his  whiskers. 

8.  The  Portuguese  were  but  little,  if  at  all,  behind 
the  Spaniards  in  their  estimate  of  these  valuable  or¬ 
naments.  As  an  evidence  of  this,  it  is  stated,  that, 
in  the  reign  of  Catharine,  Queen  of  Portugal,  the  brave 
John  de  Castro,  having  taken  the  castle  of  Diu  in  In¬ 
dia,  and  being  afterwards  in  want  of  money,  applied 
to  the  inhabitants  of  Goa  to  loan  him  one  thousand 
piastres,  and,  as  security  for  that  sum,  sent  them  one 
of  his  whiskers,  telling  them  that  “  All  the  gold  in  the 
world  cannot  equal  the  value  of  this  natural  ornament 
of  my  valor.”  The  people,  in  admiration  of  his  mag¬ 
nanimity,  sent  him  the  money,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
returned  his  incomparable  whisker. 

9.  In  the  reign  of  Louis  XIII.  of  France,  whiskers 
attained  the  highest  degree  of  favor.  They  also  con¬ 
tinued  in  fashion  during  the  early  part  of  the  succeed¬ 
ing  reign.  Louis  XIV.  and  the  great  men  of  France, 
took  a  pride  in  wearing  them.  It  was  no  uncommon 
thing,  at  that  time,  for  the  ladies  to  comb  and  dress 
the  whiskers  of  their  beaux  ;  and  the  men  of  fashion 


THE  BARBER.  107 

were  particular  in  providing  whisker-wax,  and  every 
article  necessary  to  this  agreeable  pastime. 

10.  The  whiskers  belonging  to  the  image  of  the 
Chinese  philosopher  Confucius,  which  is  preserved  by 
his  countrymen,  are  supposed  to  be  capable  of  confer¬ 
ring  upon  those  who  might  wear  them,  a  portion  of 
the  wisdom  and  manly  beauty  of  that  illustrious  sage. 
Great  care,  however,  is  taken  that  none  shall  enjoy 
these  great  personal  qualifications  by  such  easy  means; 
as  decapitation  is  the  penalty  for  plucking  the  whis¬ 
kers  from  the  position  which  they  occupy. 

11.  When  the  practice  of  shaving  off  the  beard 
was  again  revived  in  Europe,  instrumental  music  was 
employed  in  the  barber’s  shop,  to  amuse  customers 
waiting  their  turn ;  but,  at  the  present  time,  news¬ 
papers  are  furnished  for  this  purpose.  In  taking  off 
the  beard,  soft  water,  good  soap,  a  brush,  and  a  sharp 
razor,  are  the  usual  requisites.  The  razor  should  be 
placed  nearly  flat  on  the  face,  and  be  moved  from 
point  to  heel.  Barbers  have  usually  some  regular 
customers,  many  of  whom  have  a  box  of  soap  and  a 
brush  appropriated  to  their  individual  use.  .  •  • 

12.  In  ancient  times,  great  attention  was  paid  to 
dressing  the  hair.  The  Hebrew  women  plaited,  and 
afterwards  confined  it  with  gold  and  silver  pins  ;  they 
also  adorned  it  with  precious  stones.  The  Greeks, 
both  male  and  female,  at  every  period  of  their  ancient 
history,  wore  long  hair,  which  they  usually  permitted 
to  hang  gracefully  upon  the  shoulders,  back,  and 
sometimes  upon  the  breast. 

13.  Adult  males,  among  the  Romans,  usually  wore 
their  hair  short,  and  dressed  with  great  care,  espe¬ 
cially  in  later  ages,  when  attention  to  this  part  of  the 
person  was  carried  to  such  excess,  that  ointments  and 
perfumes  were  used  even  in  the  army.  The  hair  was 
cut  for  the  first  time,  when  the  boy  had  attained  his 
seventh  year,  and  the  second  time,  when  he  was  four- 


108 


THE  BARBER. 


teen  years  old.  His  locks,  at  each  cutting,  were 
commonly  dedicated  to  Apollo  or  Bacchus. 

14.  Both  men  and  women,  among  the  Greeks  and 
Romans,  sometimes  permitted  their  hair  to  grow  in 
honor  of  some  divinity.  The  Jews,  also,  when  un¬ 
der  the  vow  of  a  Nazarite,  were  not  permitted  to  trim 
their  hair  or  beards.  In  grief  and  mourning,  the  Ro¬ 
mans  suffered  their  hair  and  beards  to  grow.  The 
Greeks,  on  the  contrary,  when  in  grief,  cut  their  hair 
and  shaved  their  beards,  as  likewise  did  some  of  the 
barbarous  nations  of  early  time. 

15.  Artificial  hair  began  to  be  fashionable,  at  an 
early  period,  and  was  used  by  the  Greeks,  Carthagin¬ 
ians,  and  Romans.  In  the  time  of  Ovid,  blond  hair 
was  in  great  favour  at  Rome ;  and  those  ladies  who 
did  not  choose  to  wear  wigs,  powdered  their  hair  with 
a  kind  of  gold  dust.  They  wore  hanging  curls  all 
round  the  head,  to  which  they  were  fastened  with  cir¬ 
cular  pins  of  silver.  Every  wealthy  Roman  lady  of 
fashion  kept  at  least  one  slave  to  frizzle  and  curl  the 
hair. 

16.  The  time,  when  wigs  first  came  into  use,  can¬ 
not  now  be  ascertained.  It  is  certain,  however,  that 
they  were  worn  by  females  a  long  time  before  they 
became  fashionable  among  the  men. 

17.  Wigs,  perukes,  or  periwigs,  were  revived  in 
the  seventeenth  century.  In  the  reign  of  Louis  XIII., 
or  about  the  year  1629,  they  became  fashionable  at 
Paris ;  and,  as  that  city  was  generally  imitated  by  the 
rest  of  Europe  in  things  of  this  nature,  they  soon  be¬ 
came  common.  The  wigs  were  very  large,  as  may 
be  seen  by  examining  ancient  portraits,  and  were 
covered  with  a  profusion  of  hair-powder.  At  first,  it 
was  disreputable  for  young  people  to  wear  them,  as 
the  loss  of  the  hair  at  an  early  age  was  attributed  to 
a  disease,  which  was,  of  itself,  discreditable. 

8.  When  wigs  were  first  introduced  into  England, 


THE  BARBER. 


109 


some  of  the  clergy  opposed  them  violently,  consider¬ 
ing  their  use  more  culpable  than  wearing  long  hair ; 
since,  as  they  alleged,  it  was  more  unnatural.  Many 
preachers  inveighed  against  wigs  in  their  sermons, 
and  cut  their  own  hair  shorter  to  manifest  their  ab¬ 
horrence  of  the  reigning  mode. 

19.  The  worldly-wise,  however,  observed  that  a 
periwig  procured  for  the  wearer  a  degree  of  respect 
and  deference  which  otherwise  might  not  have  been 
accorded ;  and  hence  there  was  a  strong  tendency  to 
the  use  of  this  appendage.  The  judges  and  physi¬ 
cians,  especially,  understood  well  this  influence  of  the 
wig,  and  gave  to  it  all  the  advantages  of  length  and 
breadth.  The  fashion,  at  length,  was  adopted  by  the 
ecclesiastics  themselves,  not  only  in  England,  but  in 
most  of  the  European  kingdoms,  as  well  as  in  the 
British  colonies  of  America. 

20.  The  fashion,  however,  except  in  cases  of  bald¬ 
ness,  wherein  alone  it  is  excusable,  is  now  nearly  ban¬ 
ished  from  Europe  and  America.  This  desirable 
change  was  effected  principally  by  the  example  of  re¬ 
publican  America,  and  by  the  influence  of  the  French 
Revolution.  The  law  passed  in  England  in  1795, 
imposing  a  tax  of  a  guinea  a  head  per  annum  on  those 
who  wore  hair-powder,  contributed  to  the  same  result, 
as  well  as  to  diminish  the  use  of  that  article. 

21.  The  manufacture  of  wigs  and  false  curls  is  an 
important  branch  of  the  business  of  the  barber.  The 
first  process  in  forming  a  wig  is  to  produce,  in  the 
hair  about  to  be  used  for  this  purpose,  a  disposition  to 
curl.  This  is  done  by  winding  it  on  a  cylinder  of 
wood  or  earth,  and  afterwards  boiling  it  in  water.  It 
is  then  dried,  and  baked  in  an  oven.  Thus  prepared, 
it  is  woven  on  a  strong  thread,  and  is  subsequently 
sewn  on  a  caul  fitted  to  the  head.  False  curls  are 
made  on  the  same  principle. 

22.  Wigs  and  false  curls  were  not  made  in  ancient 

K 


no 


THE  BARBER. 


times  precisely  in  the  same  manner ;  although  their 
appearance,  when  finished,  was  probably  similar. 
The  hair  was  then  attached  directly  to  a  piece  of 
thin  leather,  by  means  of  some  adhesive  substance,  or 
composition. 

23.  Many  barbers,  especially  those  who  have  a  rep¬ 
utation  for  making  wigs  and  false  curls  in  a  fashion¬ 
able  style,  keep  for  sale  perfumery,  as  well  as  a  vari¬ 
ety  of  cosmetics. 

24.  From  the  eleventh  to  the  eighteenth  century, 
surgical  operations  were  almost  exclusively  perform¬ 
ed  by  the  barbers  and  bath-keepers.  As  phlebotomy 
was  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  profit  to  the  barbers, 
they  adopted  a  sign  emblematical  of  this  operation. 
It  consisted  of  a  pole,  representing  the  staff  which 
the  individual  held  in  his  hand,  while  the  blood  was 
flowing  from  the  arm.  The  white  band  wound  spi¬ 
rally  about  the  pole,  represented  the  fillet  of  linen 
with  which  the  arm  was  afterwards  secured. 

25.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remark,  that  the  same 
sign  is  still  employed  by  the  barbers  ;  although,  with 
a  few  exceptions,  they  have  ceased  to  perform  the 
operation  of  which  it  was  significant. 


THE  TANNER,  AND  THE  CURRIER. 


THE  TANNER. 

1.  The  art  of  tanning  consists  in  converting  hides 
and  skins  into  leather,  by  impregnating  them  with  as¬ 
tringent  matter. 

2.  It  is  impossible  to  determine  the  period  at  which 
the  art  of  tanning  was  discovered.  It  was  doubtless 
known  to  the  ancients,  and  probably  to  the  antedilu¬ 
vians,  in  some  degree  of  perfection  ;  since  skins  were 
applied  as  means  of  clothing  the  human  body,  before 
the  arts  of  spinning  and  weaving  were  practised.  It 
is  likely,  however,  that  they  were  applied  to  this  pur¬ 
pose,  for  a  considerable  time,  in  their  natural  state  ; 
and  that  accident,  at  length,  suggested  the  means  of 
rendering  them  more  applicable,  by  saturating  them 
with  certain  mineral  or  vegetable  substances. 

3.  Although  the  art  of  converting  skins  into  leather 


112 


THE  TANNER. 


was  practised  in  remote  ages,  yet  .it  was  not  until 
near  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  that  the  true 
principle  of  the  process  was  understood.  Before  this 
time,  it  was  supposed,  that  the  astringent  principle  of 
the  agents  employed,  was  a  resinous  substance,  which 
adhered  mechanically  to  the  fibres,  and  thus  render¬ 
ed  them  firm  and  insoluble.  The  correct  explana¬ 
tion  was  first  given  by  Deyeux,  and  afterwards  more 
fully  developed  by  M.  Seguin.  These  chemists  clear¬ 
ly  proved,  that  the  formation  of  leather  was  the  re¬ 
sult  of  a  chemical  union  between  a  substance  called 
tannin,  and  the  gelatinous  part  of  the  skin. 

4.  The  subject,  however,  was  not  thoroughly  un¬ 
derstood,  and  reduced  to  scientific  principles,  until 
the  year  1803,  when  Sir  Humphrey  Davy  gave  it  a 
careful  investigation,  in  a  series  of  chemical  experi¬ 
ments.  These  inquiries  resulted  in  the  conviction, 
that  the  method  of  tanning  which  had  been  in  gen¬ 
eral  use,  may,  with  a  few  alterations,  be  considered 
preferable  to  that  by  which  the  process  is  carried  on 
with  more  rapidity. 

5.  The  skin  which  envelopes  the  bodies  of  animals, 
consists  of  three  layers.  That  on  the  outside  is  a  thin, 
white,  elastic  membrane,  called  the  cuticle,  or  scarf 
skin ;  that  on  the  inside  is  a  strong  membrane,  de¬ 
nominated  the  cutis,  or  true  skin  ;  between  these  two 
is  a  very  thin  membrane,  to  which  anatomists  have 
given  the  name  rete  mucosum,  and  in  which  is  situa¬ 
ted  the  substance  which  gives  color  to  the  animal. 
The  cutis  is  com’posed  of  fibres,  which  run  in  every 
direction,  and,  being  by  far  the  thickest  layer,  is  the 
one  that  is  converted  into  leather. 

6.  The  skins  of  large  animals,  such  as  those  of  the 
ox  and  horse,  are  denominated  hides  ;  and  those  of 
smaller  animals,  as  of  the  calf,  goat,  and  sheep,  are 
called  skins.  Of  the  former  description,  is  made 
thick,  of  the  latter,  thin  leather.  The  process  of  tan¬ 
ning  ditferent  skins  varies  in  many  particulars,  ac- 


THE  TANNER.  113 

cording  to  the  nature  of  the  leather,  and  the  uses  to 
which  it  is  to  be  applied. 

7.  The  general  process  of  changing  thick  hides 
into  sole-leather,  is  as  follows  :  They  are  first  soaked 
in  water,  to  free  them  from  dirt  and  blood  ;  and  then, 
if  rigid,  they  are  beaten  and  rubbed,  or  rolled  under 
a  large  stone,  to  render  them  pliable.  They  are  next 
soaked  in  lime-water,  or  hung  up  in  a  warm  room, 
and  smoked,  until  a  slight  putrescency  takes  place. 
The  hair,  cuticle,  rete  mucosum,  on  one  side,  and  the 
fleshy  parts  on  the  other,  are  then  scraped  off,  on  a 
learn,  with  a  circular  knife. 

8.  Nothing  now  remains  but  the  cutis,  or  true  skin. 
Several  hides,  in  this  state  of  preparation,  are  put  to¬ 
gether  into  a  vat,  for  the  purpose  of  impregnating  them 
with  tannin.  This  substance  is  found  in  astringent 
vegetables,  and  is  obtained,  in  a  proper  state  for  appli¬ 
cation,  by  infusion  in  water.  In  that  condition,  it  is 
called  ooze,  which  is  first  applied  in  a  weak  state. 

9.  After  the  ooze,  of  different  degrees  of  strength, 
has  been  renewed  several  times,  they  are  put  between 
layers  of  bark,  and  suffered  to  remain  several  months, 
fresh  bark,  from  time  to  time,  being  supplied.  The 
whole  process  generally  occupies  from  twelve  to  six¬ 
teen  months.  When  strong  solutions  of  tannin  are 
used,  the  leather  is  formed  in  a  much  shorter  time ; 
but,  in  that  case,  it  is  much  more  rigid,  and  more  liable 
to  crack.  It  is  rendered  smooth  and  compact,  by 
beating  it  with  a  wooden  beetle,  or  by  passing  it  be¬ 
tween  rollers. 

10.  Oak  bark,  on  account  of  its  cheapness,  and  the 
quantity  of  tannin  which  it  contains,  is  more  exten¬ 
sively  employed  by  tanners  than  any  other  vegetable 
substance.  In  sections  of  country,  where  this  kind 
cannot  be  conveniently  obtained,  the  bark  of  the  hem¬ 
lock,  spruce,  and  chestnut,  the  leaves  of  the  sumach, 
and  various  other  astringents,  are  substituted. 

K  2 


114 


THE  TANNER. 


11.  The  process  of  tanning  calf-skins  is  somewhat 
different  in  many  of  its  details.  They  are  first  put 
into  a  solution  of  lime,  where  they  remain  during  ten 
or  fifteen  days,  and  are  then  scraped  on  both  sides, 
on  the  beam,  with  a  circular  knife,  as  in  the  former 
case,  and  for  the  same  purpose.  They  are  then  wash¬ 
ed  in  water,  and  afterwards  immersed  in  an  infusion 
of  hen  or  pigeon’s  dung.  Here  they  are  left  for  a 
week  or  ten  days,  according  to  the  state  of  the  weath¬ 
er  and  other  circumstances  ;  during  which  time,  they 
are  frequently  handled ,  and  scraped  on  both  sides. 
By  these  means,  the  lime,  oil,  and  saponaceous  mat¬ 
ter,  are  discharged,  and  the  skin  is  rendered  pliable. 

12.  They  are  next  put  into  a  vat  containing  weak 
ooze,  and  afterwards  removed  to  several  others  of 
regularly  increasing  strength.  In  the  mean  time, 
they  are  taken  up  and  handled  every  day,  that  they 
may  be  equally  acted  upon  by  the  tanning  principle. 
The  time  occupied  in  the  whole  process,  is  from  two 
to  six  months.  The  light  and  thin  sorts  of  hides,  de¬ 
signed  for  upper  leather,  harnesses,  &c.,  are  treated 
in  a  similar  manner. 

13.  The  tanner  procures  his  hides  and  skins  from 
various  sources,  but  chiefly  from  the  butcher,  and  from 
individuals  who  kill  the  animals  for  their  own  con¬ 
sumption.  Great  quantities  of  dry  hides  are  also  ob¬ 
tained  from  South  America,  where  cattle  are  killed  in 
great  numbers,  principally  for  the  sake  of  this  valu¬ 
able  envelope  of  their  bodies. 

THE  CURRIER. 

1.  It  is  the  business  of  the  currier  to  dress  the 
thinner  kinds  of  leather.  In  most  cases,  in  the  Uni¬ 
ted  States,  except  in  and  near  large  cities,  the  busi. 
ness  of  tanning  and  currying  are  usually  united  in 
the  same  individual ;  or,  at  least,  the  two  branches  of 
business  are  carried  on  together,  by  the  aid  of  work¬ 
men,  skilled  in  their  respective  trades. 


THE  CURRIER. 


115 


2.  The  mode  of  dressing  the  different  kinds  of 
skins,  varies  in  some  respects ;  but,  as  the  general 
method  of  operating  is  the  same  in  every  sort,  a  de¬ 
scription  applicable  in  one  case  will  convey  a  suffi¬ 
ciently  accurate  idea  of  the  whole.  We  shall,  there¬ 
fore,  select  the  calf-skin,  since  it  is  more  frequently 
the  subject  of  the  currier’s  skill  than  any  other. 

3.  The  skin  is  first  soaked  in  water,  until  it  has 
become  sufficiently  soft,  and  then  shaved  with  the 
currier's  knife,  on  the  inner  side,  over  the  currier's 
beam.  It  is  then  placed  on  a  table,  somewhat  in¬ 
clined  from  the  workman,  and  scoured  on  both  sides 
with  the  edge  of  a  narrow,  smooth  stone,  set  in  a  han¬ 
dle,  and  again,  with  an  iron  sleeker  of  a  similar  shape. 
The  skin  is  next  stuffed  with  a  composition  of  tallow 
and  tanner’s  oil,  on  the  flesh  side,  and  then  hung  up 
to  dry.  Afterwards  it  is  rubbed  on  the  hair  side  with 
a  board,  and  again  scraped  on  the  flesh  side  with  the 
knife.  Having  been  thus  prepared,  the  skin  is  black¬ 
ed  on  the  flesh  side  with  lampblack  and  tanner’s  oil, 
and  subsequently  rubbed  with  paste,  applied  with  a 
brush.  When  it  has  been  dried,  the  whole  process  is 
finished  by  rubbing  both  sides  with  a  glass  sleeker. 

4.  Horse  hides  are  blacked  on  the  hair  side,  or,  as 
the  curriers  term  it,  on  the  grain,  with  a  solution  of 
copperas  water.  Leather  designed  for  harnesses,  for 
covering  carriages,  and  for  other  similar  purposes,  is 
also  blacked  on  that  side  in  the  same  manner. 

5.  The  trade  of  the  currier  is  divided  into  two  or 
three  branches.  Some  dress  only  calf-skins  and  other 
thick  leather  designed  for  shoes,  harnesses,  and  car¬ 
riages  ;  others  confine  themselves  to  dressing  skins, 
which  are  to  be  applied  to  binding  books,  and  to  other 
purposes  requiring  thin  leather.  It  may  be  well  to 
remark  here,  that  the  dressers  of  thin  leather  usually 
tan  the  skins  themselves,  using  the  leaves  of  sumach, 
instead  of  bark. 


THE  SHOE  AND  BOOT  MAKER. 

1.  As  the  shoe  is  an  article  of  primary  utility,  it 
was  used,  more  or  less,  in  the  earliest  ages.  Some 
writers  suppose,  that  the  Deity,  in  clothing  man  with 
skins,  did  not  leave  him  to  go  barefooted,  but  gave 
him  shoes  of  the  same  material. 

2.  The  shoes  of  the  ancient  Egyptians  were  made 
of  the  papyrus.  The  Chinese,  as  well  as  the  inhab¬ 
itants  of  India,  and  some  other  nations  of  antiquity, 
manufactured  them  from  silk,  rushes,  linen,  wood,  the 
bark  of  trees,  iron,  brass,  silver,  and  gold,  and  some¬ 
times  ornamented  them  with  precious  stones. 

3.  The  Romans  had  various  coverings  for  the  feet, 
the  chief  of  which  were  the  calceus  and  the  solea. 
The  calceus  somewhat  resembled  the  shoe  we  wear 
at  present,  and  was  tied  upon  the  instep  with  a  latchet 


THE  SHOE  AND  BOOT  MAKER.  117 

or  lace.  The  solea,  or  sandal,  was  a  thick  cork  sole, 
covered  above  and  beneath  with  leather,  and  neatly 
stitched  on  the  edge.  It  left  the  upper  part  of  the 
foot  bare,  and  was  fastened  to  it  by  means  of  straps, 
which  were  crossed  over  the  instep,  and  wound  about 
the  ankle.  Roman  citizens  wore  the  calceus  with 
the  toga,  when  they  went  abroad  in  the  city,  v/hile 
the  solea  was  worn  at  home  and  on  journeys.  The 
solea  was  also  used  at  entertainments ;  but  it  was 
changed  for  the  calceus,  when  the  guests  were  about 
to  surround  the  table. 

4.  The  senators  wore  shoes,  which  came  up  to  the 
middle  of  the  leg,  and  which  had  a  golden  or  silver 
crescent  on  the  top  of  the  foot.  The  shoes  of  the 
women  were  generally  white,  sometimes  red,  scarlet, 
or  purple,  and  were  adorned  with  embroidery  and 
pearls  ;  but  those  of  the  men  were  mostly  black.  On 
days  of  public  ceremony,  however,  the  magistrates 
wore  red  shoes. 

5.  Boots  were  used  in  very  ancient  times,  and  were 
primarily  worn,  as  a  kind  of  armor,  with  a  view  of 
protecting  the  lower  extremities  in  battle.  They 
were,  at  first,  made  of  leather,  afterwards  of  brass  or 
iron,  and  were  proof  against  the  thrusts  and  cuts  of 
warlike  weapons.  The  boot  was  called  ocrea  by  the 
Romans,  who,  as  well  as  the  Greeks,  used  it  in  the 
army,  and  in  riding  on  horseback,  and  sometimes  in 
pedestrian  journeys. 

6.  The  fashion  of  boots  and  shoes,  like  every  other 
part  of  dress,  has  been  subject  to  a  number  of  chan¬ 
ges,  as  regards  both  their  form  and  material.  In  Eu¬ 
rope,  about  one  thousand  years  ago,  the  greatest  prin¬ 
ces  wore  shoes  with  wooden  soles.  In  the  reign  of 
William  Rufus,  of  England,  the  shoes  of  the  great  had 
long,  sharp  points,  stuffed  with  tow,  and  twisted  like 
a  ram’s  horn.  The  clergy  preached  against  this  fash¬ 
ion  ;  but  the  points  continued  to  increase  in  length, 


118  THE  SHOE  AND  BOOT  MAKER. 


until  the  reign  of  Richard  the  Second,  when  they  were 
tied  to  the  knees  with  chains  of  silver  or  gold.  In 
the  year  1463,  Parliament  interposed,  and  prohibited 
the  manufacture  or  use  of  shoes  or  boots  with  pikes 
exceeding  two  inches  in  length. 

7.  Lasts  adapted  to  each  foot,  commonly  called 
rights  and  lefts,  were  not  introduced  into  England, 
until  about  the  year  1785;  nor  was  cramping,  or 
crimping,  the  front  part  of  boots  practised  there  for 
ten  years  after  that  period.  These  improvements  did 
not  become  generally  known,  or,  at  least,  were  not 
much  used,  in  the  United  States,  for  many  years  after 
their  adoption  in  Great  Britain. 

8.  Many  facts,  besides  the  preceding,  might  be  ad¬ 
duced  to  prove,  that  the  art  of  making  shoes  and 
boots,  although  uninterruptedly  practised  from  the 
earliest  ages,  has  received  many  important  improve¬ 
ments  within  the  last  fifty  years. 

9.  In  Europe  and  America,  boots  and  shoes  are 
commonly  made  of  leather.  In  shoes  for  females, 
however,  it  is  not  unusual  to  use  prunello,  which  is  a 
kind  of  twilled,  worsted  cloth.  In  all  cases,  thick 
leather  is  used  for  the  soles. 

10.  The  business  of  making  boots  and  shoes  is  car¬ 
ried  on  very  systematically  in  large  establishments. 
The  materials  are  cut  out  and  fitted  by  the  foreman, 
or  by  the  person  who  carries  on  the  business,  whilst 
the  pieces  are  stitched  together,  and  the  work  finish¬ 
ed,  by  workmen  who  sit  upon  the  bench. 

11.  As  a  matter  of  convenience,  the  trade  have 
fixed  upon  certain  sizes,  which  are  designated  by 
numbers ;  and,  corresponding  to  these,  the  lasts  are 
formed  by  the  last-maker  ;  but,  to  be  still  more  exact, 
individuals  sometimes  procure  lasts  corresponding  to 
their  feet,  on  which  they  cause  their  boots  and  shoes 
to  be  made. 

12.  The  following  is  a  description  of  the  process 


THE  SHOE  AND  BOOT  MAKER.  119 


of  making  a  leather  shoe :  after  the  materials  have 
been  cut  out  according  to  the  measure,  or  size,  and 
the  parts  of  the  uppers  have  been  stitched  together, 
the  sole-leather  is  hammered  on  the  lapstone,  tacked 
to  the  last,  and  trimmed  with  a  knife.  The  upper 
leather  is  next  stretched  on  the  last  with  a  pair  of 
pincers,  fastened  to  its  proper  place  with  tacks,  and 
then  sewed  to  the  bottom  of  the  sole  with  a  waxed 
thread.  A  narrow  strip  of  leather,  called  a  welt ,  is 
also  fastened  to  the  sole  by  similar  means,  and  to  this 
is  stitched  another  sole.  A  heel  being  added,  the 
shoe  is  finished  by  trimming  and  polishing  it  with  ap. 
propriate  instruments. 

13.  The  edges  of  fine  leather  shoes  and  boots,  are 
trimmed  with  thin  strips  of  the  like  material,  whilst 
those  of  prunello,  and  other  thin  shoes  for  ladies,  are 
bound  with  narrow  tape.  The  binding  is  applied  by 
females  with  thread,  by  means  of  a  common  needle. 

14.  Shoe-thread  is  commonly  spun  from  flax  ;  that 
from  hemp  is  much  stronger,  and  was  formerly  pre¬ 
ferred  ;  but  it  is  now  used  only  for  very  strong  work. 
The  greater  part  of  the  shoe-thread  used  in  the  Uni¬ 
ted  States,  is  spun  by  machinery,  at  Leeds,  in  Eng¬ 
land,  from  Russian  flax.  The  wax  employed  by  shoe¬ 
makers,  was  formerly  composed  of  tar  and  rosin  ;  but 
it  is  now  most  usually  made  of  pitch. 

15.  The  shoemaker,  in  sewing  together  different 
parts  of  his  work,  uses  threads  of  various  sizes,  which 
are  composed  of  several  small  threads  of  different 
lengths.  A  hog’s  bristle  is  fastened  to  each  end  of 
it,  which  enables  the  workman  to  pass  it  with  facility 
through  the  holes  made  with  the  awl. 

16.  An  expeditious  way  of  fastening  the  soles  of 
boots  and  shoes  to  the  upper  leathers,  is  found  in  the 
use  of  wooden  pegs  or  br^ss  nails.  The  old  method, 
however,  is  generally  preferred,  on  several  accounts ; 


120  THE  SHOE  AND  BOOT  MAKER. 

but  chiefly,  because  the  work  is  more  durable,  and  be¬ 
cause  it  can  be  more  easily  repaired. 

17.  Journeymen  working  at  this  trade  most  usually 
confine  their  labours  to  particular  kinds  of  work  ;  as 
few  can  follow  every  branch  with  advantage.  Some 
make  shoes  and  boots  for  men  ;  others  confine  their 
labours  to  those  designed  for  ladies  ;  but,  by  their  aid, 
the  master-shoemaker  can,  and  usually  does,  supply 
every  kind  at  his  store. 

18.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  in  the  country,  for 
the  farmers  to  purchase  leather,  and  employ  the  shoe¬ 
maker  to  make  it  up ;  and  this  is  done,  in  most  cases, 
on  their  own  premises.  The  shoemaker  employed 
in  this  way,  removes  from  house  to  house,  changing 
his  location,  whenever  he  has  completely  served  a 
whole  family  in  his  vocation.  In  such  cases,  he  is 
said,  by  the  trade,  to  be  whipping  the  cat.  The  set 
of  tools  with  which  he  operates,  is  called  his  kit. 

19.  The  shoemaker  usually  buys  his  leather  from 
the  manufacturer  ;  and  procures  his  tools,  tacks,  and 
various  other  articles  of  a  similar  nature,  at  the  jind. 
ing  stores.  In  some  cases,  the  shoemaker  with  little 
or  no  capital,  gets  his  materials  from  the  leather-cut - 
ter ,  who  makes  it  a  business  to  supply  them  ready 
cut  to  the  proper  size  and  shape.  There  are,  how¬ 
ever,  but  few  leather-cutters  in  our  country ;  but,  in 
England,  this  branch  of  trade  is  one  of  considerable 
importance,  and  is  frequently  connected  with  that  of 
the  leather-dresser. 


THE  SADDLER  AND  HARNESS-MAKER,  AND  THE 

TRUNK-MAKER. 

THE  SADDLER  AND  HARNESS-MAKER. 

1.  The  invention  of  the  saddle  has  been  attributed 
to  the  Selians,  a  people  of  ancient  Franconia.  Un¬ 
der  this  impression,  it  has  been  supposed  that  the  Lat¬ 
ins  gave  it  the  name  of  sella.  The  period  at  which 
it  was  first  used,  cannot  be  ascertained.  It  is  certain, 
however,  that  the  horse  had  been  rendered  subservi¬ 
ent  to  man,  several  centuries  before  this  convenient 
article  was  thought  of. 

2.  At  first,  the  rider  sat  upon  the  bare  back  of  the 
animal,  and  guided  him  with  a  switch,  but  afterwards 
with  a  strap  put  round  the  nose.  In  the  course  of 
time,  the  rider  came  to  use,  upon  the  back  of  the 
horse,  the  skins  of  beasts,  in  order  to  render  his  seat 

L 


122  THE  SADDLER  AND  HARNESS-MAKER. 

more  easy.  The  Greeks,  and  many  other  refined 
nations  of  antiquity,  sometimes  used  superb  trappings, 
composed  of  cloth,  leather,  and  skins  dressed  with  the 
hair  on  ;  and,  in  addition  to  .the  gold,  silver,  and  pre¬ 
cious  stones,  with  which  these  were  ornamented,  the 
horses  were  often  otherwise  decked  with  bells,  col¬ 
lars,  and  devices  of  various  kinds. 

3.  The  Romans,  in  the  days  of  the  republic,  deem¬ 
ed  it  more  manly  to  ride  on  the  bare  back  of  the  ani¬ 
mal  than  on  coverings.  At  a  later  period,  they  used 
a  kind  of  square  pannel,  without  stirrups ;  and  about 
the  year  340  of  the  Christian  era,  they  began  to  ride 
on  saddles.  It  appears,  that  those  first  employed 
were  very  heavy,  as  the  Emperor  Theodosius,  in  the 
same  century,  forbade  the  use  of  any  which  weighed 
over  sixty  pounds.  The  use  of  saddles  was  estab¬ 
lished  in  England  by  Henry  the  Seventh,  who  enjoin¬ 
ed  on  his  nobility  the  practice  of  riding  upon  them. 

4.  The  frame  of  a  saddle  is  called  a  tree.  It  is 
not  made  by  the  saddlers,  but  by  persons  who  confine 
their  attention  to  this  branch  of  business.  The  trees 
are  constructed  of  wood,  with  a  small  quantity  of  iron, 
and  covered  with  canvas. 

5.  In  making  a  common  saddle,  the  workman  first 
extends  two  strips  of  straining  web  from  the  pommel 
to  the  hinder  part  of  the  tree,  and  fastens  them  with 
tacks.  The  tree  is  then  covered  on  the  upper  side 
with  two  thicknesses  of  linen  cloth,  between  which  a 
quantity  of  wool  is  afterwards  interposed.  A  cover¬ 
ing  of  thin  leather,  usually  made  of  hog’s-skin,  is  next 
tacked  on,  and  the  flaps  added.  Under  the  whole  are 
placed  the  pads  and  saddle-cloth  ;  the  former  of  which 
is  made  of  thin  cotton  or  linen  cloth,  and  thin  leather, 
stuffed  with  hair.  The  addition  of  four  straps,  two 
girths,  two  stirrup-leathers,  and  as  many  stirrups, 
completes  the  whole  operation. 

6.  The  roughness,  or  the  little  indentations  in  the 


THE  TRUN  K-M  AKER. 


123 


flaps,  are  produced  by  passing  the  leather  between 
rollers,  in  contact  with  a  rough  surface,  or  by  beating 
it  with  a  mallet,  on  the  face  of  which  has  been  fasten¬ 
ed  a  piece  of  the  skin  from  a  species  of  shark,  com¬ 
monly  called  the  dog-fish. 

7.  Saddles  are  often  covered  with  buckskin,  curi¬ 
ously  stitched  into  figures,  and  having  the  spaces  be¬ 
tween  the  seams  stuffed  with  wool  ;  this  is  particu¬ 
larly  the  case  in  side-saddles.  The  form  of  saddles, 
and  the  quality  of  the  materials,  together  with  the 
workmanship,  are  considerably  varied,  to  suit  the  pur¬ 
poses  to  which  they  are  to  be  applied,  and  to  accom¬ 
modate  the  fancy  of  customers. 

8.  The  process  of  making  bridles,  and  harness  for 
horses,  is  extremely  simple.  The  leather  is  first  cut  out 
with  a  knife  of  some  description,  but  usually  with  one 
of  a  crescent-like  form,  or  with  a  blade  set  in  a  gauge, 
and  then  stitched  together  with  the  kind  of  thread 
used  by  shoemakers.  The  awl  employed  in  punching 
the  holes  is  straight ;  and  needles  are  most  commonly 
used,  instead  of  the  bristles  which  point  the  shoema¬ 
ker’s  threads.  The  mode  of  manufacturing  saddle¬ 
bags,  portmanteaus,  and  valises,  is  too  obvious  to  need 
description. 

THE  TRUNK-MAKER. 


1.  The  manufacture  of  trunks  is  equally  simple 
with  that  of  making  harness.  In  common  cases,  it 
consists  chiefly  in  lining  the  inside  of  a  wooden  box 
with  paper,  or  some  kind  of  cloth,  and  covering  the 
outside  with  a  skin,  or  with  leather,  which  is  fasten¬ 
ed  to  the  wood  by  means  of  tacks.  Narrow  strips 
of  leather  are  fastened  upon  hair  trunks  with  brass 
nails,  by  way  of  ornament,  as  well  as  to  confine  the 
work. 

2.  Instead  of  a  wooden  box,  oblong  rims  of  iron, 
and  very  thick,  solid  pasteboard,  fastened  together  by 


124 


THE  TRUNK-MAKER. 


means  of  strong  thread,  are  used  in  the  best  kinds  of 
trunks.  The  frame  or  body,  thus  formed,  is  covered 
with  some  substantial  leather,  which  is  first  stuck  on 
with  paste,  and  then  secured  by  sewing  it  to  the  paste¬ 
board  with  a  waxed  thread.  Over  the  whole,  are  ap¬ 
plied  strips  of  iron,  fastened  with  brass  or  copper 
nails  with  large  heads.  The  lines  and  figures  on  the 
leather,  added  by  way  of  ornament,  are  produced  by 
a  crease,  a  tool  made  of  wood,  ivory,  or  whalebone. 
Its  form  is  much  like  that  of  the  blade  of  a  common 
paper-folder. 

3.  How  long  trunk-making  has  been  a  separate 
trade,  cannot  be  exactly  ascertained.  The  trunk- 
makers  in  France  were  incorporated  into  a  company, 
in  1596.  In  the  United  States,  this  branch  of  busi¬ 
ness  is  very  commonly  united  with  that  of  the  saddler 
and  harness-maker. 

,  .  f .  -  v  % 


\ 


) 


( 


v. 


THE  SOAP-BOILER,  AND  THE  CANDLE-MAKER. 

THE  SOAP-BOILER. 

1.  The  business  of  the  soap-boiler  consists  in  man¬ 
ufacturing  soap,  by  the  combination  of  certain  oily 
and  alkaline  substances. 

2.  The  earliest  notice  of  this  useful  article  occurs 
in  the  works  of  Pliny,  in  which  it  is  stated,  that  soap 
was  composed  of  tallow  and  ashes  ;  that  the  mode  of 
combining  them  was  discovered  by  the  Gauls ;  but 
that  the  German  soap  was  the  best. 

3.  For  many  ages  before  the  invention  of  soap, 
saponaceous  plants,  and  several  kinds  of  earth,  to¬ 
gether  with  animal  matters  and  the  ley  from  ashes, 
were  employed  for  the  purpose  of  cleansing  the  skin, 
and  articles  of  clothing.  The  idea  of  combining 

L  2 


126 


THE  S  0  A  P-B  OILER. 


some  of  these  substances,  with  the  view  of  forming 
soap,  probably  originated  in  accident. 

4.  The  vegetable  oils  and  animal  fats,  capable  of 
saponification,  are  very  numerous  ;  but  those  most 
commonly  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  the  soaps 
of  commerce,  are  olive-oil,  whale-oil,  tallow,'  lard, 
palm-oil,  and  rosin  ;  and  the  alkalies  with  which  these 
are  most  frequently  combined,  are  soda,  the  ley  of 
ashes,  or  its  residuum,  potash. 

5.  Soda  is  sometimes  called  the  mineral  alkali;  be¬ 
cause  it  is  found,  in  some  parts  of  the  world,  in  the 
earth.  It  was  known  to  the  ancients,  at  a  very  early 
period,  under  the  denomination  of  natron.  It  receiv¬ 
ed  this  appellation  from  the  lakes  of  Natron,  in  Egypt, 
from  the  waters  of  which  it  was  produced  by  evapo¬ 
ration,  during  the  summer  season. 

6.  The  soda  of  commerce  is  now  chiefly  obtained 
from  the  salsola ,  a  genus  of  plants  which  grows  on 
the  sea-shore.  In  Spain,  the  plant  from  which  soda 
is  obtained  is  denominated  barilla ;  hence,  the  sub¬ 
stance  produced  from  it  by  incineration  has  received 
the  same  appellation.  The  ashes  of  a  sea-weed 
which  grows  on  the  coasts  of  Scotland  and  Ireland, 
is  called  kelp.  In  Europe,  barilla  and  kelp  are  more 
extensively  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  soap  than 
any  other  alkaline  substances  ;  but,  in  this  country, 
where  wood  is  so  much  used  for  fuel,  common  ashes 
are  generally  preferred. 

7.  The  process  of  making  the  ordinary  brown  or 
yellow  soap,  from  wood-ashes,  is  conducted  in  the 
following  manner.  The  alkali  is  first  obtained  in  a 
state  of  solution  in  water,  by  leeching  the  ashes  as 
described  in  page  26,  and  then  poured,  in  a  weak 
state,  into  a  copper  or  iron  caldron,  having  a  large 
wooden  tub  carefully  affixed  to  the  top  of  it. 

8.  When  the  ley  has  been  properly  heated,  the 
tallow,  either  in  a  tried  state  or  in  the  suet,  is  grad 


THE  SOAP-BOILER.  127 

ually  added.  More  ley,  of  greater  concentration,  is 
poured  in  ;  and  the  ingredients  are  moderately  boiled 
for  several  hours  ;  while  a  person,  as  represented  in 
the  preceding  cut,  aids  their  chemical  union  by  agi¬ 
tating  them  with  a  wooden  spatula. 

9.  After  a  quantity  of  rosin  has  been  added,  and 
properly  incorporated  with  the  other  materials,  the 
fire  is  withdrawn  until  the  next  morning,  when  it  is 
again  raised  ;  then,  with  the  view  of  forming  th e  paste 
into  hard  soap,  a  quantity  of  muriate  of  soda  (com¬ 
mon  salt)  is  added.  The  muriatic  acid  of  this  sub. 
stance,  uniting  with  the  potash,  forms  with  it  muriate 
of  potash,  which  dissolves  in  the  water,  while  the  soda 
combines  with  the  tallow  and  rosin.  Hard  soap, 
therefore,  contains  no  potash  ;  although  this  alkali  is 
generally  employed  during  the  early  part  of  the  pro¬ 
cess  of  making  it. 

10.  After  the  addition  of  the  muriate  of  soda,  the 

boiling  and  stirring  are  continued  two  or  three  hours, 
when  the  fire  is  withdrawn,  and  the  contents  of  the 
caldron  are  suffered  to  be  at  rest.  When  the  soap 
has  completely  separated  from  the  watery  part  and 
extraneous  matters,  it  is  laded  into  another  caldron, 
again  diluted  with  strong  ley,  and  heated.  The  paste 
having  been  brought  to  a  proper  consistence,  more 
common  salt  is  added  as  before,  and  for  the  same 
purposes.  , 

11.  The  chemical  part  of  the  process  having  been 
thus  completed,  the  soap  is  laded  into  single  wooden 
boxes,  or  into  one  or  more  composed  of  several  dis¬ 
tinct  frames,  which  can  be  removed  separately  from 
the  soap,  after  it  has  become  solid  enough  to  stand 
without  such  support.  The  soap  is  c.ut  into  bars, 
of  nearly  a  uniform  size,  by  means  of  a  small  brass 
wire. 

12.  Manufacturers  of  soap  have  contrived  various 
methods  of  adulterating  this  article,  or  of  adding  in- 


128 


THE  S  0  A  P-E  OILER. 


gredients  which  increase  its  weight,  without  adding 
to  its  value.  The  most  common  means  employed  for 
this  purpose  is  water,  which  may  be  added,  in  some 
cases,  in  considerable  quantities,  without  greatly  di¬ 
minishing  the  consistence  of  the  soap.  * 

13.  This  fraud  may  be  detected  by  letting  the  soap 
lie  for  some  time  exposed  to  the  atmosphere.  The 
water  will  thus  be  evaporated,  and  its  quantity  can 
be  known  by  weighing  the  soap,  after  its  loss  of  the 
superfluous  liquid.  To  prevent  evaporation,  while 
the  soap  remains  on  hand,  it  is  said,  that  some  deal¬ 
ers  keep  it  in  saturated  solutions  of  common  salt. 
Another  method  of  adulteration  is  found  in  the  use  of 
pulverized  lime,  gypsum,  or  pipe-clay.  These  sub¬ 
stances,  however,  can  be  easily  detected  by  means  of 
a  solution  in  alcohol,  which  precipitates  them. 

14.  The  process  of  manufacturing  soft  soap,  differs 
but  little  in  its  details  from  that  described  in  the  pre¬ 
ceding  paragraphs.  The  chief  difference  consists  in 
omitting  the  use  of  salt.  Soft  soap,  therefore,  is  com¬ 
posed  of  a  greater  proportion  of  water,  and  more  al¬ 
kali  than  is  necessary  to  saturate  the  unctuous  mat¬ 
ters.  Soft  soap  is  made  by  almost  every  family  in 
the  country,  from  ashes,  grease,  and  oily  matters,  re¬ 
served  for  the  purpose. 

15.  The  celebrated  Marseilles  white  soap,  is  com¬ 
posed  of  A 

Sodflj  .......  6. 

Olive-oil, . 60. 

Water,  . 34. 

Castile  soap,  of 

Soda,  .......  9. 

Olive-oil, . 76.5. 

Water,  with  a  little  coloring  matter,  .  14.5. 

Fine  toilet-soaps  are  made  with  oil  of  almonds,  nut- 
oil,  palm-oil,  suet,  or  butter,  combined  with  soda  or 


THE  CANDL  E-M  A  K  E  R. 


129 


potash,  according  to  their  preparation  in  a  solid  or 
pasty  state. 

16.  In  the  manufacture  of  white  soap,  the  tallow 
is  more  carefully  purified,  and  no  rosin  is  used.  In 
other  particulars,  the  process  differs  but  little  from 
that  employed  in  the  production  of  the  common  kind. 
Two  tons  of  tallow  should  yield  three  tons  of  white 
soap.  In  making  the  same  quantity  of  common 
brown  or  yellow  soap,  twelve  hundred  weight  less  is 
required,  on  account  of  the  substitution  of  that  amount 
of  yellow  rosin. 

17.  The  mottled  appearance  of  some  soaps  is  caus¬ 
ed  by  dispersing  the  ley  through  it,  towards  the  close 
of  the  operation,  or  by  adding  a  quantity  of  sulphate 
of  iron,  indigo,  or  the  oxide  of  manganese.  Castile 
soap,  now  manufactured  in  the  greatest  perfection  at 
Marseilles,  in  France,  receives  its  beautifully  marbled 
appearance  from  the  sulphate  of  iron. 

THE  CANDLE-MAKER. 

1.  The  subject  of  the  candle-maker’s  labors  may 
be  defined  to  be  a  wick,  covered  with  tallow,  wax,  or 
spermaceti,  in  a  cylindrical  form,  which  serves,  when 
lighted,  for  .  the  illumination  of  objects  in  the  absence 
of  the  sun.  The  business  of  candle-making  is  divi¬ 
ded  into  two  branches  ;  the  one  is  confined  to  the 
manufacturing  of  tallow  candles,  and  the  other,  to  ma¬ 
king  those  composed  of  wax  or  spermaceti. 

2.  The  process  of  making  candles  from  tallow,  as 
conducted  by  the  tallow-chandler,  needs  only  a  brief 
description,  since  it  differs  but  little  from  the  method 
pursued  by  families  in  the  country,  with  which  most 
persons  are  familiar.  The  difference  lies  chiefly  in 
the  employment  of  a  few  conveniences,  by  which  the 
candles  are  more  rapidly  multiplied. 

3.  The  first  part  of  the  process  consists  in  pre¬ 
paring  a  wick,  to  serve  as  a  foundation.  The  coarse 


130 


THE  CANDL  E-M  AKER. 


and  slightly  twisted  yarn  used  for  this  purpose,  is  spun 
in  the  cotton-factories ;  and,  being  wound  into  balls, 
is,  in  that  form,  sold  to  the  tallow-chandlers,  as  well 
as  to  individuals  who  make  candles  for  their  own  con¬ 
sumption. 

4.  A  sufficient  number  of  threads  is  combined,  to 
form  a  wick  of  a  proper  size  ;  and,  as  they  are  wound 
from  the  balls,  they  are  measured  off,  and  cut  to  the 
proper  length,  by  a  simple  contrivance,  which  consists 
of  a  narrow  board,  a  wooden  pin,  and  the  blade  of  a 
razor.  The  pin  and  razor  are  placed  perpendicular 
to  the  board,  at  a  distance  determined  by  the  length 
of  the  proposed  wick.  The  wicks  are  next  put  upon 
cylindrical  rods,  about  three  feet  long  ;  and  a  great 
number  of  these  are  arranged  on  a  long  frame. 

5.  To  obtain  the  tallow  in  a  proper  state  for  use, 
it  is  separated  from  the  membranous  part  of  the  suet, 
by  boiling  the  latter  in  an  iron  or  copper  kettle,  and 
then  subjecting  the  cracklings  to  the  action  of  a  press 
The  substance  that  remains,  after  the  tallow  has  been 
expressed,  is  called  greaves,  which  are  sometimes  ap¬ 
plied  to  fattening  ducks  for  market.  This  is  espe¬ 
cially  the  case  in  the  city  of  London. 

6.  The  tried  tallow  is  prepared  for  application  to 
the  wicks,  by  heating  it  to  a  proper  temperature.  It 
is  then  poured  into  a  suitable  receptacle,  where  it  is 
kept  in  order  either  by  a  moderate  fire  underneath,  or 
by  the  occasional  addition  of  hot  tallow. 

7.  The  broaches,  as  the  sticks  with  their  wicks  are 
called,  are  taken  up,  several  at  a  time,  either  between 
the  fingers  or  by  means  of  a  simple  instrument  de¬ 
nominated  a  rake ,  and  dipped  into  the  tallow.  They 
are  then  returned  to  the  frame,  and  suffered  to  cool, 
while  successive  broaches  are  treated  in  the  same 
way.  The  dipping  is  repeated,  until  the  candles  have 
been  thickened  to  the  proper  size. 

8.  In  the  preceding  plate,  is  represented  a  work- 


THE  C  A  N  D  L  E-M  AKER. 


131 


man  in  the  act  of  dipping  several  broaches  of  candles, 
suspended  on  a  rake,  which  he  holds  in  his  hands. 
The  mode  of  making  dipped  candles  just  described, 
is  more  generally  practised  than  any  other,  and  in 
this  manner  five  or  six  hundred  pounds  can  be  made 
by  one  hand,  in  a  single  day.  In  some  establish¬ 
ments,  however,  a  more  complicated  apparatus  is 
used,  by  which  every  part  of  the  process  is  greatly 
expedited. 

9.  Mould  candles  are  made  very  differently.  The 
moulds  consist  of  a  frame  of  wood,  in  which  are  ar¬ 
ranged  several  hollow  cylinders,  generally  made  of 
pewter.  At  the  lower  extremity  of  each  cylinder,  is 
a  small  hole,  for  the  passage  of  the  wick,  which  is  in¬ 
troduced  by  means  of  a  hook  on  the  end  of  a  wire. 
The  cotton  is  fastened  at  the  other  end,  and  placed  in 
a  perpendicular  situation  in  the  centre  of  the  shafts, 
by  means  of  a  wire,  which  passes  through  the  loops 
of  the  wicks.  The  melted  tallow,  having  been  pour¬ 
ed  on  the  top  of  the  wooden  frame,  descends  into  each 
mould.  After  the  candles  have  become  sufficiently 
cold,  they  are  extracted  from  the  cylinders  with  a 
bodkin,  which  is  inserted  into  the  loop  of  the  wick. 
One  person  can  thus  mould  two  or  three  hundred 
pounds  in  a  day. 

10.  Candles  are  also  made  of  bees-wax  and  sper¬ 
maceti  ;  but  the  mode  of  their  manufacture  differs  in 
no  particular  from  that  of  common  mould  candles. 
The  wicks  for  wax-candles  are  usually  made  of  a  pe¬ 
culiar  kind  of  cotton,  which  grows  in  Asiatic  Turkey. 

11.  Before  the  wax  is  applied  to  this  purpose,  the 
coloring  matter  is  discharged.  This  is  effected  by 
bleaching  the  wax,  in  the  following  manner.  It  is 
first  divided  into  flakes,  or  thin  laminse,  by  pouring 
it,  in  a  melted  state,  through  a  colander  upon  a  cy. 
lindrical  wheel,  which,  at  the  same  time,  is  kept  re¬ 
volving,  while  partly  immersed  in  cold  water.  The 


132 


THE  CANDL  E-M  AKER. 


wax,  having  been  removed  from  the  water,  is  placed 
upon  a  table  or  floor  covered  with  some  kind  of  cloth. 
Here  it  is  occasionally  sprinkled  with  water,  until 
the  bleaching  has  been  completed.  The  process  oc¬ 
cupies  several  weeks,  or  even  months,  according  to 
the  state  of  the  weather,  that  being  best  which  is 
most  favorable  to  a  rapid  evaporation. 

12.  Spermaceti  is  a  substance  separated  from  sperm 
oil,  which  is  obtained  from  a  species  of  whale,  called 
pliyseter  macrocephalus,  or  spermaceti  cachalot.  This 
oil  is  obtained  from  both  the  head  and  body  of  the  an¬ 
imal,  but  that  procured  from  the  former  contains 
twice  the  quantity  of  spermaceti. 

13.  To  separate  the  spermaceti  from  the  oil  yield¬ 
ed  by  the  body,  it  is  first  heated,  then  put  into  casks, 
and  suffered  to  stand  two  or  three  weeks,  in  order  to 
granulate.  The  oily  part  is  now  filtrated  through 
strainers  ;  and  the  remainder,  which  is  calledybote,  is 
again  heated,  and  put  into  casks.  After  having  stood 
several  weeks,  these  are  put  into  bags,  and  submitted 
to  the  action  of  a  powerful  press.  The  spermaceti 
thus  obtained,  is  melted  and  moulded  into  cakes. 
The  oil  thus  separated  from  the  spermaceti,  is  called 
spring  or  fall  strained  ;  because  it  is  filtered  and  ex¬ 
pressed  only  during  those  seasons  of  the  year. 

14.  The  oil  from  the  head  of  the  whale  is  treated 
like  that  from  the  body,  in  almost  every  particular. 
The  difference  consists,  principally,  in  omitting  the 
use  of  the  strainer,  and  in  the  employment  of  strong¬ 
er  bags  and  a  more  powerful  press.  The  oil  obtain¬ 
ed  from  the  head-matter ,  is  called  pressed ,  since  it  is 
separated  by  the  action  of  the  press  only.  It  is  also 
denominated  winter -strained ,  because  the  operation  is 
performed  in  the  cold  weather. 

15.  The  spermaceti,  having  been  melted  and  mould¬ 
ed  into  cakes,  is  reserved  until  the  succeeding  sum¬ 
mer,  when  it  is  cut  into  thin  shavings,  by  means  of  a 


THE  CANDL  E-M  AKER. 


133 


large  shave,  similar  to  the  spoke-sliave  of  the  wheel¬ 
wrights,  and  again  pressed  as  before.  The  oil  of  this 
last  pressing  is  called  taut  pressed,  and  is  the  least 
valuable  kind,  since  a  slight  degree  of  cold  causes  it 
to  become  thick.  The  spermaceti  obtained  from  the 
oil  of  the  body,  and  that  from  the  head-matter,  are 
melted  together,  and  purified  by  means  of  potash-ley. 

16.  The  sperm-oil,  thus  freed  from  the  spermaceti, 
is  extensively  used  in  lamps  as  a  means  of  illumina¬ 
tion  ;  and,  for  many  purposes,  it  is  far  more  conve¬ 
nient  than  tallow.  In  the  country,  lard  is  frequently 
employed  instead  of  oil,  especially  by  the  German 
population.  In  some  European  and  Asiatic  countries, 
vegetable  oils  supply  the  place  of  animal  fats,  in  this 
application. 

17.  The  origin  of  the  art  of  making  candles  is  not 
known.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  business  is 
comparatively  modern,  since  the  Greeks  and  Romans, 
as  well  as  other  nations  of  antiquity,  employed  torch¬ 
es  of  pine  and  fir,  and  lamps  supplied  with  oil,  in  the 
production  of  artificial  light.  The  words  in  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  translated  candle,  imply  nothing  more  nor  less 
than  a  light  produced  by  some  kind  of  oil  consumed 
in  a  lamp. 

18.  The  tamps  in  ancient  times  were  suspended  by 
a  chain  or  cord  from  the  ceiling,  or  supported  on 
stands  and  moveable  tables,  which  were  called  by  the 
Romans  lampadaria,  or  candelabra.  Many  speci¬ 
mens  of  this  utensil  are  preserved  in  several  museums 
of  Europe,  and  some  have  lately  been  found  in  the 
ruins  of  Herculaneum. 

19.  The  Chinese  make  their  candles  from  the  tal¬ 
low  obtained  from  the  seeds  and  capsules  of  the  ta'i- 
low-tree.  This  tree,  which  is  produced  in  great 
abundance  in  China,  is  said  to  grow  in  various  parts 
of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  In  appearance,  it 
resembles  the  Lombardy  poplar. 

M 


THE  COMB-MAKER,  AND  THE  BRUSH-MAKER. 

THE  COMB-MAKER. 

1.  The  comb  is  a  well-known  instrument,  employ¬ 
ed  in  cleansing,  dressing,  and  confining  the  hair.  It 
is  made  of  various  materials,  but  most  commonly  of 
tortoise-shell,  the  horns  and  hoofs  of  cattle,  ivory, 
bone,  and  several  kinds  of  hard  wood. 

2.  It  is  impossible  to  determine  the  period  of  the 
world  at  which  it  was  introduced,  since  history  and 
tradition,  the  sources  from  which  we  obtain  informa¬ 
tion  of  this  nature,  are  silent  with  regard  to  its  ori¬ 
gin.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  comb  is  an  in¬ 
strument  of  primary  necessity  ;  and  hence  it  must 
have  been  invented  in  the  earliest  ages.  This  opin¬ 
ion  is  confirmed  by  the  fact,  that  the  comb  has  been 


THE  COM  B-M  AKER. 


135 


frequently  found  in  use  amongst  savages,  when  first 
visited  by  civilized  men. 

3.  Combs  employed  in  fixing  the  hair,  are  made  of 
tortoise-shell,  or  of  the  horns  of  cattle.  The  genuine 
tortoise-shell  is  taken  from  the  testudo  imbricata ,  or 
hawk's -bill  turtle  ;  but  a  kind  of  shell,  inferior  in  qual¬ 
ity,  is  obtained  from  the  testudo  caretta,  or  loggerhead 
turtle.  These  turtles  inhabit  the  seas  of  warm  and 
temperate  climates  ;  but  they  are  especially  numer¬ 
ous  in  the  West  Indian  seas,  where  shell  is  a  valua¬ 
ble  article  of  commerce.  That  ffom  St.  Domingo  is 
especially  esteemed  for  its  brilliancy  of  shade  and 
color. 

4.  The  shell  of  the  hawk’s-bill  turtle  was  exten¬ 
sively  employed  for  ornamental  purposes  by  the  re¬ 
fined  nations  of  antiquity  ;  although  we  have  no  ac¬ 
count  of  its  application  to  the  manufacture  of  combs. 
The  Greeks  and  Romans  decorated  with  it  the  doors 
and  pillars  of  their  houses,  as  well  as  their  beds  and 
other  furniture.  The  Egyptians  dealt  largely  with 
the  Romans  in  this  elegant  article. 

5.  The  general  length  of  the  hawk’s-bill  turtle  is 
about  three  feet  from  the  bill  to  the  end  of  the  shell ; 
but  it  has  been  known  to  measure  five  feet,  and  to 
weigh  five  or  six  hundred  pounds.  In  the  Indian 
Ocean,  especially,  specimens  of  prodigious  magnitude 
are  said  to  have  occurred. 

6.  The  shell  employed  in  the  arts,  grows  upon  the 
back  and  feet  of  the  animal.  That  on  the  back,  con¬ 
sists  of  thirteen  laminse,  or  plates,  which  lap  over 
each  other,  like  tiles  on  the  roof  of  a  house.  The 
plates  vary  in  thickness  from  one-eighth  to  one-fourth 
of  an  inch,  according  to  the  age  and  size  of  the  tur¬ 
tle.  The  quantity  of  merchantable  shell  obtained 
from  a  single  subject  of  the  usual  size,  is  about  eight 
pounds,  which,  at  the  usual  price,  is  worth  sixty  or 
seventy  dollars. 


136 


THE  COM  B-M  AKER. 


7.  The  process  of  making  combs  from  the  horns 
of  cattle,  is  not  difficult  to  be  understood.  The  tips 
and  buts  are  first  cut  off  with  a  saw,  and  the  remain¬ 
ing  portion  is  also  divided  longitudinally  on  one  side 
with  the  same  instrument.  The  horns  are  then  soak¬ 
ed  for  several  days,  and  afterwards  boiled  in  oil,  to 
render  them  pliable.  They  are  next  spread  out  and 
pressed  between  hot  iron  plates.  This  operation 
clarifies  the  horn,  and  produces  a  plate  of  proper 
thickness. 

8.  After  the  plaffis  thus  produced,  have  been  cut  in 
pieces  corresponding  in  size  to  the  proposed  combs, 
and  when  these  have  been  shaved  to  a  suitable  thick¬ 
ness  with  instruments  adapted  to  the  purpose,  the 
teeth  are  cut  either  with  a  twinning  saiu ,  as  represent¬ 
ed  in  the  preceding  cut,  or  with  a  twinning  machine. 

9.  In  the  former  case,  the  plate  is  fastened  with  a 
wooden  clamp ,  by  the  part  which  is  designed  to  be 
left  for  the  back  of  the  comb ;  and  when  twins,  or 
two  combs,  are  to  be  formed  from  one  piece,  the  other 
end  is  bent  down,  so  as  to  render  the  upper  surface 
considerably  convex.  To  this  surface  the  twinning 
saw  is  applied  by  the  hand  of  the  workman,  who 
makes  a  number  of  incisions  ;  which  are  completed 
both  ways  with  two  different  kinds  of  saws,  and  the 
end  of  each  tooth  is  cut  from  the  back  of  the  opposite 
comb  with  an  instrument  called  a  plugging  awl. 

10.  The  twinning  machine  was  invented,  about  twen¬ 
ty  years  ago,  by  a  Mr.  Thomas,  of  Philadelphia  ;  but 
it  has  been  successfully  improved  by  several  individ¬ 
uals  since  that  time.  It  is,  altogether,  an  ingenious 
and  useful  contrivance.  The  cutting  part  consists  of 
two  chisels,  which  are  made  to  act  on  the  plate  alter¬ 
nately,  and  in  a  perpendicular  direction,  each  chisel 
cutting  one  side  of  two  teeth,  and  severing  one  from 
the  opposite  back,  at  every  stroke.  It  is  impossible, 
however,  to  form  a  clear  conception  of  the  manner  in 


THE  COM  B-M  AKER. 


137 


which  the  machine  operates, Except  by  actual  inspec¬ 
tion.  It  performs  the  work  with  great  rapidity ;  since 
from  one  to  two  hundred  dozens  of  combs  can  be  cut 
in  twelve  hours ;  whereas,  not  one-fourth  of  that 
number  can  be  twinned  in  the  old  method,  during  the 
same  time. 

11.  After  the  teeth  have  been  rounded,  and  in 
other  respects  brought  to  the  proper  form  with  suita¬ 
ble  instruments,  the  combs  are  polished  by  rubbing 
them  first  with  the  dust-  of  a  peculiar  kind  of  brick, 
then  by  applying  them  to  a  moving  cylinder  covered 
with  buff  leather,  charged  with  rotten-stone,  ashes,  or 
brick-dust ;  and,  finally,  by  rubbing  them  with  the 
hand,  charged  with  rotten-stone  and  vinegar. 

12.  The  combs  are  next  colored,  or  stained  ;  and, 
as  the  tortoise-shell  is  by  far  the  best  and  most  ex¬ 
pensive  material  for  this  kind  of  comb,  the  great  ob¬ 
ject  of  the  manufacturer  is  to  produce  colors  as  near¬ 
ly  resembling  those  of  the  real  shell  as  practicable. 
This  is  done  in  considerable  perfection,  in  the  follow¬ 
ing  manner : 

13.  The  combs  are  first  dipped  in  aqua-fortis,  and 
then  covered  with  a  paste  made  of  lime,  pearlash,  and 
red  lead.  To  produce  the  requisite  variety  of  shades, 
both  taste  and  judgment  are  necessary  in  applying 
the  composition,  and  in  determining  the  time  which  it 
should  remain  upon  the  combs.  To  give  the  combs 
a  still  strqnger  resemblance  to  shell,  they  are  also  im¬ 
mersed  for  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  in  a  dye  of  Nic¬ 
aragua. 

14.  The  combs  having  been  covered  with  oil,  they 
are  next  heated  upon  iron  plates,  and  brought  to  the 
desired  shape  by  bending  them  upon  wooden  blocks 
with  a  woollen  list.  The  whole  process  is  finished  by 
rubbing  off  the  oil  with  a  silk  handkerchief. 

15.  The  general  process  of  making  shell  combs 
differs  but  little  from  that  which  has  been  just  de- 

M  2 


138 


THE  BRUS  H-M  AKER. 


scribed,  varying  only  in  a  few  particulars,  in  compli¬ 
ance  with  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  material. 

16.  On  account  of  the  great  value  of  shell,  the 
workmen  are  careful  to  make  the  most  of  every  por¬ 
tion  of  it ;  accordingly,  when  a  piece  falls  short  of  the 
desired  size,  it  is  enlarged  by  welding  to  it  another  of 
smaller  dimensions.  The  union  is  effected,  by  lap¬ 
ping  the  two  pieces  upon  each  other,  and  then  press¬ 
ing  them  together  between  two  plates  of  hot  iron. 
The  heat  of  the  iron  is  prevented  from  injuring  the 
shell,  by  the  interposition  of  a  wet  linen  cloth,  and  by 
immersing  the  whole  in  hot  water.  In  a  similar  man¬ 
ner,  broken  combs  are  often  mended ;  and  by  the 
same  method,  two  pieces  of  horn  can  also  be  joined 
together. 

17.  Both  horn  and  shell  combs  are  often  stamped 
with  figures,  and  otherwise  ornamented  with  carved 
work.  In  the  latter  case,  the  ornaments  are  produ¬ 
ced,  by  removing  a  part  of  the  material  with  a  saw 
and  graver.  The  saw  employed  is  not  more  than 
the  twelfth  of  an  inch  in  width  ;  and,  being  fastened  to 
a  frame,  it  is  moved  up  and  down,  with  great  rapidity, 
by  means  of  the  foot,  while  the  part  of  the  comb  to  be 
cut  away  is  applied  to  the  teeth.  The  operator  is 
guided  in  the  work  by  a  pattern,  which  has  been  struck 
on  paper  from  an  engraved  plate. 

18.  Combs  for  dressing  and  cleansing  the  hair,  are 
made  of  horn,  shell,  bone,  ivory,  and  wood  ;  but  it  is 
unnecessary  to  be  particular  in  describing  the  manner 
in  which  every  kind  of  comb  is  manufactured.  We 
will  only  add,  that  the  teeth  of  fine  ivory  and  bone 
combs  are  cut  with  a  buzz,  or  circular  saw,  which, 
fastened  to  a  mandrel,  is  moved  in  a  lathe. 

THE  BRUSH-MAKER. 

1.  There  are  few  manufactured  articles  in  more 
general  use  than  brushes.  This  has  arisen  from  their 


THE  BRUSH-MAKER. 


139 


great  utility,  and  the  low  prices  at  which  they  can  be 
purchased.  The  productions  of  the  brush-maker’s 
labor  are  denominated  variously,  according  to  the 
purposes  to  which  they  are  to  be  applied. 

2.  The  operations  connected  with  this  business  are 
very  simple,  as  there  is  scarcely  a  tool  employed 
which  is  not  familiar  to  every  other  class  of  mechan¬ 
ics.  The  brush-maker,  however,  does  not  manufac¬ 
ture  every  part  of  the  brush.  He  procures  his  wood¬ 
en  stocks  and  handles  from  various  sources,  but  chiefly 
from  the  turner,  and  bone  handles,  from  the  tooth¬ 
brush  handle-maker. 

3.  The  first  part  of  the  process  which  may  be  con¬ 
sidered  as  belonging  particularly  to  the  brush-maker, 
consists  in  boring  the  holes  for  the  reception  of  the 
bristles.  This  is  done  with  a  lit  of  a  proper  size, 
which  is  kept  in  motion  with  a  lathe,  while  the  wood 
is  brought  against  it  with  both  hands.  To  enable  the 
operator  to  make  the  holes  in  the  right  place  and  in 
the  proper  direction,  a  pattern  is  applied  to  the  hither 
side  of  the  stock. 

4.  The  greater  part  of  the  bristles  used  by  the 
brush-makers  in  the  United  States,  are  imported  from 
Russia  and  Germany.  Large  quantities,  however, 
are  obtained  from  Pennsylvania,  and  some  parts  of 
the  Western  States.  American  bristles  are  worth 
from  thirty  to  fifty  cents  per  pound,  a  price  sufficient¬ 
ly  high,  one  would  suppose,  to  induce  the  farmers  to 
preserve  them,  when  they  butcher  their  swine.  Were 
this  generally  done,  a  tolerable  supply  of  the  shorter 
kinds  of  bristles  might  be  obtained  in  our  own  country. 

5.  When  the  bristles  come  into  the  hands  of  the 
brush-maker,  the  long  and  short,  and  frequently  those 
of  different  colors,  are  mixed  together.  These  are 
first  assorted,  according  to  color  ;  and  those  of  a 
whitish  hue  are  afterwards  washed  with  potash-ley 
and  soap,  to  free  them  from  animal  fat,  and  then 


140 


THE  B  R  U  S  H-M  AKER. 


whitened  by  bleaching  them  with  the  fumes  of  brim¬ 
stone. 

6.  The  bristles  are  next  combed  with  a  row  of 
steel  teeth,  for  the  purpose  of  placing  them  in  a  par¬ 
allel  direction,  and  with  a  view  of  depriving  them  of 
the  short  hair  which  may  be  intermixed.  The  work¬ 
man,  immediately  after  combing  a  handful,  assorts  it 
into  separate  parcels  of  different  lengths.  This  is 
very  readily  done,  by  pulling  out  the  longest  bristles 
from  the  top,  until  those  which  remain  in  the  hand 
have  been  reduced  to  a  certain  length,  which  is  de¬ 
termined  by  a  gauge  marked  with  numbers.  At  each 
pulling,  the  handful  is  reduced  in  height  near  half  an 
inch. 

7.  The  stocks  and  the  bristles  having  been  thus 
prepared,  they  are  next  fastened  together.  This  is 
effected  either  with  wire  or  by  a  composition  of  tar  and 
rosin.  The  wire  is  used  in  all  cases  in  which  the 
fibre  is  doubled  ;  but  when  the  bristles  are  required 
in  their  full  length,  as  in  sweeping-brushes,  the  adhe¬ 
sive  substance  is  employed. 

8.  It  is  superfluous  to  enter  into  detail,  to  show  the 
manner  in  which  the  wire  and  composition  are  ap¬ 
plied  in  fixing  the  bristles,  as  any  person,  with  an  or¬ 
dinary  degree  of  observation,  can  readily  comprehend 
the  whole,  by  examining  the  different  kinds  of  brushes 
which  are  met  with  in  every  well-regulated  house¬ 
hold.  The  bristles,  after  having  been  fixed  to  the 
stock  or  handle,  are  trimmed  with  the  shears  or  knife, 
according  as  they  are  required  to  be  equal  or  unequal 
in  length. 

9.  The  brush  is  next  handed  over  to  the  finisher , 
who  applies  to  the  back  of  the  stock  a  thin  veneer 
of  wood,  which  secures  the  wire  against  the  oxidizing 
influence  of  the  atmosphere,  and  gives  to  tire  brush  a 
finished  appearance.  The  stock,  together  with  the 
veneer,  is  then  brought  to  the  desired  shape  with  suit- 


THE  BRUSH-MAKER.  141 

able  instruments,  polished  with  sand-paper,  and  cov¬ 
ered  with  varnish. 

10.  Those  brushes  which  the  manufacturer  designs 
to  be  ornamented,  are  sent  in  great  quantities  to  the 
ornamenter,  who  applies  to  them  various  figures,  in 
gold  or  Dutch  leaf,  japan  or  bronze,  and  sometimes 
prints,  which  have  been  struck  on  paper  from  en¬ 
graved  plates. 

'  /  v  '  ' 


w 


THE  TAVERN-KEEPER. 


1.  A  house  in  which  travellers  are  entertained  is 
denominated  a  tavern,  inn,  coffee-house,  hotel,  or 
house  of  public  entertainment ;  and  an  individual  who 
keeps  a  house  of  this  description,  is  called  an  inn¬ 
keeper  or  tavern-keeper.  Of  these  establishments 
there  are  various  grades,  from  the  log  cabin  with  a 
single  room,  to  the  splendid  and  commodious  edifice 
with  more  than  a  hundred  chambers. 

2.  This  business  is  one  of  great  public  utility ; 
since,  by  this  means,  travellers  obtain  necessary  re¬ 
freshments  and  a  temporary  home,  with  very  little 
trouble  on  their  part,  and  that,  in  most  cases,  for  a 
reasonable  compensation.  This  is  especially  the  case 
in  the  United  States,  where  the  public  houses,  taking 
them  together,  are  said  to  be  superior  to  those  of  any 
other  country. 


THE  TAVERN-KEEPER. 


143 


3.  Travellers,  in  the  early  ages  of  the  world,  either 
carried  with  them  the  means  of  sustenance,  and  pro¬ 
tection  from  the  weather,  or  relied  upon  the  hospital¬ 
ity  of  strangers  ;  but,  as  the  intercourse  between  dif¬ 
ferent  places  for  the  purposes  of  trade,  increased, 
houses  of  public  entertainment  were  established, 
which  at  first  were  chiefly  kept  by  women. 

4.  The  people  of  antiquity,  in  every  age  and  na¬ 
tion,  whether  barbarous  or  civilized,  were,  however, 
remarkable  for  their  hospitality.  We  find  this  virtue 
enjoined  in  the  Mosaic  writings,  and  scriptures  gener¬ 
ally,  in  the  poems  of  Homer,  as  well  as  in  other  dis¬ 
tinguished  writings,  which  have  descended  to  our 
times.  The  heathen  nations  were  rendered  more 
observant  of  the  rites  of  hospitality  by  the  belief,  that 
their  fabulous  gods  sometimes  appeared  on  earth  in 
human  shape ;  and  the  Jews  and  ancient  Christians, 
by  the  circumstance,  that  Abraham  entertained  angels 
unawares. 

5.  On  account  of  the  occasional  acts  of  violence 
committed  by  both  the  guest,  and  the  master  of  the 
house,  it  became  necessary  to  take  some  precautions 
for  their  mutual  safety.  When,  therefore,  a  stranger 
applied  for  lodgings,  it  was  customary  among  the 
Greeks  for  both  to  swear  by  Jupiter,  that  they  would 
do  each  other  no  harm.  This  ceremony  took  place, 
while  each  party  stood  with  his  foot  placed  on  his 
own  side  of  the  threshold  ;  and  a  violation  of  this 
oath  by  either  party,  excited  against  the  offender  the 
greatest  horror. 

6.  The  Greeks  and  Romans,  in  common  with  the 
people  of  many  other  nations,  were  in  the  habit  of 
making  arrangements  with  persons  at  a  distance  from 
their  homes,  for  mutual  accommodation,  when  ei¬ 
ther  party  might  be  in  the  vicinity  of  the  other.  In 
these  agreements,  the  contracting  parties  included 
their  posterity,  and  delivered  to  each  other  tokens, 


144  THE  TAVERN-KEEPER. 

which  might  be  afterwards  exhibited  in  proof  of  an¬ 
cient  ties  of  hospitality  between  the  families.  They 
swore  fidelity  to  each  other  by  the  name  of  Jupiter, 
who  was  surnamed  the  Hospitable  ;  because  he  was 
supposed  to  be  the  protector  of  strangers,  and  the 
avenger  of  their  wrongs. 

7.  This  relation  was  considered  a  very  intimate 
one,  especially  by  the  Romans  ;  and,  in  their  lan¬ 
guage,  it  was  called  hospitium,  or  jus  hospitii ;  hence, 
the  guest  and  entertainer  were  both  called  hostes ,  a 
word  from  which  host  is  derived,  which  is  employed 
to  designate  both  the  landlord  and  the  guest.  The 
Roman  nobility  used  to  build,  for  the  reception  of 
strangers,  apartments  called  hospitaUa,  on  the  right 
and  left  of  the  main  building  of  their  residence. 

8.  During  the  middle  ages,  also,  hospitality  was 
very  commonly  practised ;  and  the  virtue  was  not 
considered  one  of  those  which  might  be  observed  or 
neglected  at  pleasure  ;  the  practice  of  it  was  even 
enjoined  by  statute,  in  many  countries,  as  a  positive 
duty,  which  could  not  be  neglected  with  impunity. 
In  some  cases,  the  moveable  goods  of  the  inhospita¬ 
ble  person  were  confiscated,  and  his  house  burned. 
If  an  individual  had  not  the  means  of  entertaining  his 
guest,  he  was  permitted  to  steal,  in  order  to  obtain 
the  requisite  supply. 

9.  The  nobles  of  Europe,  during  this  period,  were 
generally  distinguished  for  their  cordial  entertainment 
of  strangers,  and  their  immediate  adherents.  Their 
extraordinary  liberality  arose,  in  part,  from  the  gen¬ 
eral  customs  of  the  age,  and  partly  from  a  desire  to 
attach  to  their  interests  as  great  a  number  of  retain¬ 
ers  as  possible,  with  a  view  to  maintain  or  increase 
their  political  importance.  Strangers  were  also  en¬ 
tertained  at  the  monasteries,  which  were  numerous 
in  almost  every  kingdom  of  Europe.  Several  of 
these  institutions  were  established  in  solitary  places, 


THE  TAVERN-KEEPER. 


145 


with  the  express  purpose  of  relieving  travellers  in 
distress. 

10.  It  is  evident,  that  the  arrangements  for  mutual 
accommodation,  and  the  hospitable  character  of  the 
ancients,  were  unfavorable  to  the  business  of  keeping 
tavern  ;  but  the  free  intercourse  between  different 
nations,  which  arose  from  the  Crusades,  and  the  re¬ 
vival  of  commerce,  contributed  greatly  to  the  habit 
of  regularly  entertaining  strangers  for  a  compensa¬ 
tion,  and  led  to  the  general  establishment  of  inns. 

11.  These  inns,  however,  were  not,  at  first,  well 
supported  ;  inasmuch  as  travellers  had  been  long  ac¬ 
customed  to  seek  for  lodgings  in  private  houses.  In 
Scotland,  inns  were  established  by  law,  A.D.  1424  ; 
and,  to  compel  travellers  to  resort  to  them,  they  were 
forbidden,  under  a  penalty  of  forty  shillings,  to  use 
private  accommodations,  where  these  public  houses 
were  to  be  found. 

12.  How  far  legislative  enactments  have  been  em¬ 
ployed  for  the  establishment  of  inns  in  other  countries, 
we  have  not  been  able  to  learn,  as  the  authorities  to 
which  we  have  referred  for  information  on  this  point 
are  silent  with  regard  to  it.  We  know,  however, 
that  laws  have  been  made  in  almost  every  part  of  Eu¬ 
rope,  as  well  as  in  the  United  States,  with  the  view  of 
compelling  the  landlord  to  preserve  proper  order,  and 
to  accommodate  his  customers  at  reasonable  charges. 

13.  In  the  United  States,  and  in  all  other  commer¬ 
cial  countries,  this  business  has  become  one  of  great 
importance,  not  only  to  the  individuals  who  have  en¬ 
gaged  in  it,  but  also  to  the  community  in  general. 
Within  the  present  century,  the  amount  of  travelling 
has  greatly  increased,  and  the  excellence  of  the  pub¬ 
lic  houses  has  advanced  in  the  same  ratio.  Some  of 
these  establishments  in  the  cities  and  large  towns,  are 
among  the  most  extensive  and  splendid  edifices  of 
the  country  ;  and,  in  every  place  through  which  there 

N 


146 


THE  TAVER  N-K  EEPER. 


is  much  travelling,  they  are  usually  equal  or  superior 
to  the  private  dwellings  of  the  neighborhood. 

14.  The  business  of  keeping  tavern,  however,  is 
not  always  confined  to  the  proper  object  of  entertain¬ 
ing  travellers,  or  persons  at  some  distance  from  home. 
A  public  house  is  frequently  the  resort  of  the  people 
who  live  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  and  is  often  the 
means  of  doing  much  injury,  by  increasing  dissipation. 

15.  In  all  cases  in  which  ardent  spirits  are  pro¬ 
posed  to  be  sold,  a  license  must  be  obtained  from  the 
public  authorities,  for  which  must  be  paid  the  sum 
stipulated  by  law ;  but  any  person  is  permitted  to 
lodge  travellers,  and  to  supply  them  with  every  neces¬ 
sary  means  of  cheer  and  comfort  for  a  compensation, 
without  the  formality  of  a  legal  permission  ;  yet,  a 
license  to  sell  liquors  is  called  a  tavern-license  ;  be¬ 
cause  most  tavern-keepers  regard  the  profits  on  the 
sale  of  ardent  spirits  as  one  of  their  chief  objects. 

16.  A  public  house  in  which  no  strong  drink  is 
sold,  is  called  a  temperance  tavern  ;  and  such  estab¬ 
lishments  are  becoming  common ;  but  they  are  not, 
at  present,  so  well  supported  as  those  in  which  the 
popular  appetite  is  more  thoroughly  complied  with. 
The  time,  however,  may  not  be  far  distant,  when  the 
public  sentiment  will  undergo  such  a  salutary  change, 
that  the  tavern-keepers  generally  will  find  it  their  best 
policy  to  relinquish  the  sale  of  this  poisonous  article. 

17.  As  travellers  often  apply  to  the  bar  for  “  some¬ 
thing  to  drink,”  merely  to  remunerate  the  landlord 
for  the  use  of  his  fire,  or  some  little  attention,  the 
friends  of  temperance  would  essentially  promote  their 
cause,  by  encouraging  the  practice  of  paying  for  a 
glass  of  water,  or  some  trifle  of  this  kind.  This 
would  increase  the  number  of  temperance  taverns, 
and,  perhaps,  be  the  means  of  preventing  many  gen¬ 
erous  people  from  forming  those  dissipated  habits, 
which  are  so  often  attended  with  ruinous  results. 


THE  HUNTER. 


1.  Hunting  and  fishing  are  usually  considered  the 
primary  occupations  of  man  ;  not  because  they  were 
the  first  employments  in  which  he  engaged,  but  be¬ 
cause  they  are  the  chief  means  of  human  sustenance 
among  savage  nations. 

2.  The  great  and  rapid  increase  of  the  inferior  an¬ 
imals,  and,  probably,  the  diminished  fertility  of  the 
soil  after  the  deluge,  caused  many  branches  of  the 
family  of  Noah  to  forsake  the  arts  of  civilized  life, 
especially  after  the  dispersion  caused  by  the  confusion 
of  tongues. 

3.  Many  of  these  families,  or  tribes,  continued  in 
this  barbarous  state  for  several  ages,  or  until  their  in¬ 
crease  of  numbers,  and  the  diminished  quantity  of 
wild  game,  rendered  a  supply  of  food  from  the  objects 


148 


THE  HUNTER. 


of  the  chase  extremely  precarious.  Necessity  then 
compelled  them  to  resort  to  the  domestication  of  cer¬ 
tain  animals,  and  to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil.  But 
the  practice  of  hunting  wild  animals  is  not  confined 
to  the  savage  state ;  as  it  is  an  amusement  prompted 
by  a  propensity  inherent  in  human  nature. 

4.  The  earliest  historical  notice  of  this  sport  is 
found  in  the  tenth  chapter  of  Genesis,  in  which  Nim¬ 
rod  is  styled,  “  a  mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord.” 
So  great  was  his  prowess  in  this  absorbing  pursuit, 
that  he  was  proverbially  celebrated  on  this  account 
even  in  the  time  of  Moses.  Nimrod  is  the  first  king 
of  whom  we  read  in  history  ;  and  it  is  by  no  means 
improbable,  that  his  skill  and  intrepidity  in  subduing 
the  wild  beasts  of  the  forest,  contributed  largely  to¬ 
wards  elevating  him  to  the  regal  station. 

5.  Although  the  spoils  of  the  chase  are  of  little  con¬ 
sequence  to  men,  after  they  have  united  in  regular 
communities,  in  which  the  arts  of  civilized  life  are 
cultivated ;  yet  the  propensity  to  hunt  wild  animals 
continues,  and  displays  itself  more  or  less  among  all 
classes  of  men. 

6.  The  reader  of  English  history  will  recollect,  that 
William  the  Conqueror,  who  began  his  reign  in  the 
year  1066,  signalized  his  passion  for  this  amusement, 
by  laying  waste,  and  converting,  into  one  vast  hunt¬ 
ing-ground,  the  entire  county  of  Hampshire,  contain¬ 
ing,  at  that  time,  no  less  than  twenty-two  populous 
parishes.  Severe  laws  were  also  enacted,  prohibiting 
the  destruction  of  certain  kinds  of  game,  except  by  a 
few  persons  having  specified  qualifications.  With 
some  modifications,  these  laws  are  still  in  force  in 
Great  Britain. 

7.  In  other  countries  of  Europe,  also,  large  tracts 
have  been  appropriated  by  the  kings  and  nobles  to  the 
same  object.  This  tyrannical  monopoly  is  attempted 
to  be  justified  by  the  unreasonable  pretension,  that  all 


THE  HUNTER. 


149 


wild  animals  belong,  of  right,  to  the  monarch  of  the 
country,  where  they  roam. 

8.  The  quadrupeds  most  hunted  in  Europe,  are 
the  stag,  the  hare,  the  fox,  the  wolf,  and  the  wild  boar. 
These  beasts  are  pursued  either  on  account  of  their 
intrinsic  value,  or  for  sport,  or  to  rid  the  country  of 
their  depredations.  In  some  instances,  all  three  of 
these  objects  may  be  united.  The  method  of  captur¬ 
ing  or  killing  the  animals  is  various,  according  to 
the  character  and  objects  of  the  persons  engaged 
in  it. 

9.  In  Asia,  the  wolf  is  sometimes  hunted  with  the 
eagle  ;  but,  in  Europe,  the  strongest  greyhounds  are 
employed  to  run  him  down.  This  task,  however,  is 
one  of  extreme  difficulty,  as  he  can  easily  run  twenty 
miles  upon  a  stretch,  and  is  besides  very  cunning  in 
the  means  of  eluding  his  pursuers.  Chasing  the  fox 
on  horseback,  with  a  pack  of  hounds,  is  considered 
an  animating  and  manly  sport,  both  in  Europe  and  in 
North  America. 

10.  The  most  prominent  victim  of  the  hunter,  in 
Africa,  is  the  lion.  He  is  usually  sought  in  small 
parties  on  horseback  with  dogs  ;  but  sometimes,  when 
one  of  these  formidable  animals  has  been  discovered, 
the  people  of  the  neighborhood  assemble,  and  encircle 
him  in  a  ring,  three  or  four  miles  in  circumference. 
The  circle  is  gradually  contracted,  until  the  hunters 
have  approached  sufficiently  near  to  the  beast,  when 
they  dispatch  him,  usually  with  a  musket-ball. 

11.  In  the  southern  parts  of  Asia,  tiger-hunting  is 
a  favorite  amusement.  Seated  upon  an  elephant, 
trained  especially  for  the  purpose,  the  hunter  is  in 
comparative  safety,  while  he  pursues  and  fires  upon 
the  tiger,  until  his  destruction  is  effected. 

12.  The  white  bear  and  the  grisly  bear  are  the 
most  formidable  animals  in  North  America  ;  yet  they 
are  industriously  hunted  by  both  Indians  and  white 

N  2 


150 


THE  HUNTER. 


men,  on  account  of  the  value  of  their  flesh  and  skins. 
Bisons,  or,  as  they  are  erroneously  called,  buffaloes, 
are  found  in  great  numbers  in  the  vast  prairies  which 
occur  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Rocky  Mount¬ 
ains.  They  are  commonly  met  with  in  droves,  which 
sometimes  amount  to  several  thousands. 

13.  When  the  Indian  hunters  propose  to  destroy 
these  animals,  they  ride  into  the  midst  of  a  herd,  and 
dispatch  them  with  repeated  wounds  ;  or,  they  get  a 
drove  between  themselves  and  a  precipice,  and,  by 
shouting  and  yelling,  cause  the  animals  to  crowd  each 
other  off  upon  the  rocks  below.  In  this  manner, 
great  numbers  are  disabled  and  taken  at  once.  The 
hunters,  at  other  times,  drive  the  bisons  into  inclo¬ 
sures,  and  then  shoot  them  down  at  their  leisure. 
The  hide  of  this  animal  is  dressed  with  the  hair  ad¬ 
hering  to  it ;  and  skins,  in  this  state,  are  used  by  the 
savages  for  beds,  and  by  the  white  people,  in  wagons, 
sleighs,  and  stages. 

14.  North  America,  and  the  northern  parts  of  Asia, 
have  been,  and,  in  some  parts,  still  are,  well  stocked 
with  fur-clad  animals  ;  and  these  are  the  principal 
objects  of  pursuit,  with  those  who  make  hunting  their 
regular  business.  Some  of  these  animals  were  com¬ 
mon  in  every  part  of  North  America,  when  this  por¬ 
tion  of  the  western  continent  was  first  visited  by  Eu¬ 
ropeans  ;  and  a  trade  in  peltries,  more  or  less  exten¬ 
sive,  has  been  carried  on  with  the  natives,  ever  since 
the  first  settlement  of  the  country. 

15.  For  the  purpose  of  conducting  this  trade  with 
advantage,  a  company  was  formed  in  England,  in 
1670,  by  Prince  Rupert  and  others,  to  whom  a  char¬ 
ter  was  granted,  securing  to  them  the  exclusive  priv¬ 
ilege  of  trading  with  the  Indians  about  Hudson’s  Bay. 
Another  company  was  formed  in  1783-4,  called  the 
North-West  Fur  Company.  Between  these  compa¬ 
nies,  there  soon  arose  dissensions  and  hostilities,  and 


THE  HUNTER. 


151 


many  injuries  were  mutually  inflicted  by  the  adhe¬ 
rents  of  the  parties.  Both  associations,  however,  were 
at  length  united,  under  the  title  of  the  Hudson’s  Bay 
Fur  Company.  The  Indian  trade,  on  the  great  lakes 
and  the  Upper  Mississippi,  has  long  been  in  possess¬ 
ion  of  the  North  American  Fur  Company.  Most  of 
the  directors  of  this  company  reside  in  the  city  of 
New-York. 

16.  The  companies  just  mentioned  supply  the  In¬ 
dians  with  coarse  blue,  red,  and  fine  scarlet  cloths, 
coarse  cottons,  blankets,  ribands,  beads,  kettles,  fire¬ 
arms,  hatchets,  knives,  ammunition,  and  other  articles 
adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  hunters,  receiving,  in  re¬ 
turn,  the  skins  of  the  muskrat,  beaver,  otter,  martin, 
bear,  deer,  lynx,  fox,  &c. 

17.  The  intercourse  with  the  Indians  is  managed 
by  agents,  called  clerks,  who  receive  from  the  com¬ 
pany  a  salary,  ranging  from  three  to  eight  hundred 
dollars  per  annum.  The  merchandise  is  conveyed  to 
the  place  of  trade,  in  the  autumn,  by  the  aid  of  Ca¬ 
nadian  boatmen  and  half-Indians.  The  most  con¬ 
siderable  portion  of  the  goods  are  sold  to  the  Indians 
on  a  credit,  with  the  understanding  of  their  making 
payment  in  the  following  spring  ;  but,  as  many  neg¬ 
lect  this  duty,  a  high  price  is  affixed  to  the  articles 
thus  intrusted  to  savage  honesty.  The  clerk  furnish¬ 
es  the  debtor  with  a  trap,  having  his  own  name  stamp¬ 
ed  upon  it,  to  show  that  the  hunter  has  pledged  every 
thing  which  may  be  caught  in  it. 

18.  Each  clerk  is  supplied  with  four  laborers  and 
an  interpreter.  The  latter  attends  to  the  store  in  the 
absence  of  the  clerk,  or  watches  the  debtors  in  the 
Indian  camp,  lest  they  again  sell  the  produce  of  their 
winter’s  labors.  The  peltries,  when  obtained  by  the 
clerk,  are  sent  to  the  general  agent  of  the  company. 

19.  The  fur  trade  is  also  prosecuted,  to  some  ex¬ 
tent,  by  a  class  of  men  in  Missouri,  who  proceed 


152 


THE  HUNTER. 


from  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  in  bodies  comprising  from 
fifty  to  two  hundred  individuals.  After  having  ascend¬ 
ed  the  Missouri  river,  or  some  of  its  branches,  and, 
perhaps,  after  having  passed  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
they  separate,  and  pursue  the  different  animals  on 
their  own  individual  account,  either  alone  or  in  small 
parties.  The  Indians  regard  these  men  as  intruders 
on  their  territories  ;  and,  when  a  favorable  oppor¬ 
tunity  is  presented,  they  frequently  surprise  and  mur¬ 
der  the  wandering  hunters,  and  retain  possession  of 
their  property. 

20.  In  consequence  of  the  unremitted  warfare 
which  has,  for  a  long  time,  been  carried  on  against 
the  wild  animals  of  North  America,  their  number 
has  been  greatly  diminished  ;  and,  in  many  parts,  al¬ 
most  every  species  of  the  larger  quadrupeds,  and  the 
fur-clad  animals,  has  been  exterminated.  Even  on 
the  Mississippi,  and  the  great  lakes,  the  latter  descrip¬ 
tion  of  animals  has  been  so  much  reduced  in  number, 
that  the  trade  in  peltries,  in  those  parts,  has  become 
of  little  value.  Another  half  century  will,  probably, 
nearly  terminate  the  trade  in  every  part  of  North 
America. 

21.  The  fur  trade  was  prosecuted  with  consider¬ 
able  success,  during  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century, 
principally  by  the  English,  on  the  north-west  coast 
of  America,  and  the  adjacent  islands.  The  peltries 
obtained  by  these  enterprising  traders,  were  carried 
directly  to  China.  The  trade  was  interrupted  for  a 
while  by  the  Spaniards,  who  laid  claim  to  those  re¬ 
gions,  and  seized  the  British  traders  engaged  there, 
together  with  the  property  in  their  possession.  This 
affair,  however,  was  afterwards  amicably  adjusted  by 
the  Spanish  and  English  governments  ;  and  the  whole 
trade,  from  California  north  and  to  China,  was  open¬ 
ed  to  the  latter. 

22.  The  fur  trade,  in  those  parts,  is  now  chiefly  in 


THE  HUNTER. 


153 


the  hands  of  the  Russian  Company  in  America,  which 
has  a  capital  of  a  million  of  dollars  invested  in  the 
business.  Most  of  the  persons  owning  the  stock,  are 
merchants,  residing  at  Irkutsk,  a  town  of  Siberia, 
which  is  the  centre  of  the  fur  trade  of  that  country. 
The  skins  obtained  in  Russian  America  are  chiefly 
procured  from  the  sea-otter,  and  several  species  of 
seal,  together  with  those  from  foxes,  of  a  blue,  black, 
and  gray  color,  which  are  brought  from  the  interior. 
Parties  of  Russian  hunters  have  already  passed  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  and  interfered  with  the  trade  of 
the  Hudson’s  Bay  Company.  The  fur  trade  of  Si¬ 
beria  is  chiefly  carried  on  with  China. 

23.  The  chief  objects  of  the  hunters  in  Siberia,  are 
the  black  fox,  the  sable,  the  ermine,  the  squirrel,  the 
beaver,  and  the  lynx.  In  the  region  near  the  Frozen 
Ocean,  are  also  caught  blue  and  white  foxes.  Sibe¬ 
ria  is  the  place  of  banishment  for  the  Russian  empire  ; 
and  the  exiles  were  formerly  required  to  pay  to  the 
government  an  annual  tribute  of  a  certain  number  of 
sable-skins.  The  conquered  tribes  in  Siberia,  were 
also  compelled  to  pay  their  taxes  in  the  skins  of  the 
fox  and  sable  ;  but  now,  those  of  less  value,  or  money, 
are  frequently  substituted. 

24.  Although  the  skins  of  beasts  were  the  first 
means  employed  to  clothe  the  human  body,  yet  it 
does  not  appear  that  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  and 
the  other  refined  nations  of  antiquity,  ever  made  use 
of  furs  for  this  purpose.  The  custom  of  wearing 
them,  originated  in  those  regions,  where  the  fur-clad 
animals  were  numerous,  and  where  the  severity  of 
the  climate  required  this  species  of  clothing.  The 
use  of  furs  was  introduced  into  the  southern  parts  of 
Europe  by  the  Goths,  Vandals,  Huns,  and  other  bar¬ 
barous  nations,  which  overran  the  Roman  empire. 


fHE  FISHERMAN. 


1.  Although  permission  was  given  by  the  Deity, 
immediately  after  the  flood,  to  employ  for  human  sus¬ 
tenance  “every  moving  thing  that  liveth,”  yet  it  is 
not  probable,  that  fishes  were  used  as  food,  to  any 
considerable  extent,  for  several  centuries  afterwards. 
It  is  stated  by  Plutarch,  that  the  Syrians  and  Greeks, 
in  very  ancient  times,  abstained  from  fish.  Mene- 
laus,  one  of  Homer’s  heroes,  complains,  on  a  certain 
occasion,  that  his  companions  had  been  reduced  by 
hunger  to  the  necessity  of  eating  fish ;  and  there  is 
no  mention  in  Homer,  that  the  Grecians,  at  any  time, 
used  this  food  at  the  siege. of  Troy,  although,  for  the 
ten  years  during  which  that  contest  was  carried  on, 
their  camp  was  on  the  sea-shore. 

2.  Moses,  the  Jewish  lawgiver,  is  very  explicit  in 


THE  FISHERMAN. 


155 


designating  the  land  animals  which  might  be  used  by 
the  Israelites  as  food  ;  and  he  was  equally  so  with 
regard  to  the  animals  which  inhabit  the  waters.  We 
learn,  from  the  twelfth  chapter  of  Numbers,  that  the 
children  of  Israel,  while  journeying  to  the  land  of 
Canaan,  “  remembered  the  fish  which  they  did  eat,” 
in  Egypt.  < 

3.  This  is  the  earliest  notice  on  record,  of  the  ac¬ 
tual  use  of  that  class  of  animals  for  food  ;  although  it 
is  probable,  that  they  had  been  applied  to  this  pur¬ 
pose,  in  Egypt,  six  or  seven  hundred  years  before 
that  period,  or  soon  after  the  settlement  of  this  coun¬ 
try  by  the  descendants  of  Ham. 

4.  For  a  long  time  before  the  advent  of  Our  Sa¬ 
viour,  fishing  had  been  a  regular  business,  even  in  Ju¬ 
dea  ;  and  from  the  class  of  men  who  followed  this 
occupation,  he  chose  several  of  his  apostles.  At  the 
time  just  mentioned,  fish  had  become  a  common  ar¬ 
ticle  of  diet,  in  all  parts  of  the  world  subject  to  the 
Roman  power,  and  probably  in  almost  ail  other  coun¬ 
tries. 

5.  The  methods  of  catching  fish,  pursued  in  an¬ 
cient  times,  were  similar  to  those  of  the  present  day  ; 
for  then,  as  now,  they  were  caught  with  a  hook,  with 
a  spear,  and  with  a  seine  or  net,  according  to  the 
character  of  the  animal,  and  the  nature  of  the  fishing 
station.  But  the  great  improvements  in  navigation, 
made  since  the  twelfth  century,  have  given  modern 
fishermen  the  command  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
Oceans,  and,  consequently,  a  knowledge  of  many  spe¬ 
cies  of  fish  which  were  formerly  unknown. 

6.  According  to  Linnseus,  the  great  naturalist, 
about  four  hundred  species  of  fish  have  come  to  our 
knowledge ;  and  he  presumes,  that  those  which  re¬ 
main  unknown  are  still  more  numerous.  Notwith¬ 
standing  this  great  variety,  the  chief  attention  of  fish¬ 
ermen  is  confined  to  a  few  kinds,  which  are  the  most 


156 


THE  FISHERMAN. 


easily  caught,  and  which  are  the  most  valuable  when 
taken. 

7.  Every  place  which  contains  many  inhabitants, 
and  which  is  located  in  the  vicinity  of  waters  well 
stored  with  fish,  is  supplied  with  these  animals  by 
men  who  make  fishing  a  business ;  still,  these  fish¬ 
eries  may  be  considered  local  in  their  benefits,  and 
perhaps  do  not  require  particular  notice  in  this  arti¬ 
cle.  We  will  only  remark,  therefore,  that,  in  large 
cities,  fresh  fish  are  sold  either  in-  a  fish-market,  or 
are  hawked  about  the  streets.  The  wives  of  the  fish¬ 
ermen  are  very  often  employed  in  selling  the  fish 
caught  by  their  husbands.  The  fisheries  w'hich  are 
of  the  greatest  consequence,  in  general  commerce, 
are  those  which  relate  to  herring,  mackerel,  salmon, 
seal,  and  whale. 

8.  Herring  Fishery. — There  are  several  species  of 
herring  ;  but,  of  these,  four  kinds  only  are  of  much 
importance,  viz.,  the  common  herring,  the  shad,  the 
hard  head,  and  the  alewife ;  of  which,  the  first  is  the 
most  valuable,  being  by  far  the  most  numerous,  and 
being,  also,  better  adapted  than  the  others  for  preser¬ 
vation. 

9.  The  winter  residence  of  the  common  herring  is 
within  the  arctic  circle,  whence  it  emigrates,  in  the 
spring,  to  more  southern  portions  of  the  globe,  for  the 
purpose  of  depositing  its  spawn.  The  first  body  of 
these  migratory  animals,  appears  on  the  coasts  of 
both  Europe  and  America,  in  April,  or  about  the  first 
of  May  ;  but  these  are  only  the  precursors  of  the 
grand  shoals  which  arrive  in  a  few  weeks  afterwards. 

10.  Their  first  approach  is  indicated  by  the  great 
number  of  birds  of  prey,  which  follow  them  in  their 
course  ;  but,  when  the  main  body  appears,  the  num¬ 
ber  is  so  great,  that  they  alter  the  appearance  of  the 
ocean  itself.  In  this  last  and  principal  migration,  the 
shoals  are  five  or  six  miles  in  length,  and  three  or 


THE  FISHERMAN. 


157 


four  in  breadth ;  and,  before  each  of  these  columns, 
the  water  is  driven  in  a  kind  of  ripple.  Sometimes, 
the  fish  sink  together  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  and  then 
rise  again  to  the  surface,  when  they  reflect,  in  clear 
weather,  the  rays  of  the  sun,  in  a  variety  of  splendid 
colors. 

11.  These  fish  proceed  as  far  south  as  France,  on 
the  coasts  of  Europe,  and  as  far  as  Georgia,  in  Amer¬ 
ica,  supplying  every  bay,  creek,  and  river,  which  opens 
into  the  Atlantic.  Having  deposited  their  spawn, 
generally  in  the  inland  waters,  they  return  to  their 
head. quarters  in  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  recruit  their 
emaciated  bodies  for  another  migration  in  the  follow¬ 
ing  spring. 

12.  In  a  few  weeks,  the  young  ones  are  hatched 
by  the  genial  heat  of  the  sun ;  and,  as  they  are  not 
found  in  southern  waters  in  the  winter,  it  is  evident 
that  they  proceed  northward  in  the  fall,  to  their  pa¬ 
ternal  haunts  under  the  ice,  and  thus  repair  the  vast 
destruction  of  their  race,  which  had  been  caused  by 
men,  fowl,  and  fish,  in  the  previous  season. 

13.  These  fish  are  caught  in  nearly  every  river, 
from  Maine  to  Georgia,  which  has  a  free  communi¬ 
cation  with  the  Atlantic  ;  but  the  most  extensive  fish¬ 
eries  are  on  the  Hudson  and  Delaware  Rivers,  and  on 
those  which  flow  into  the  Chesapeake  Bay. 

14.  The  instrument  employed  in  catching  these 
fish  is  called  a  seine ,  which  is  a  species  of  net,  some¬ 
times  in  length  several  hundred  fathoms,  and  of  a 
width  suiting  the  depth  of  the  water  in  which  it  is  to 
be  used.  The  two  edges  of  the  net-work  are  fasten¬ 
ed  each  to  a  rope ;  and,  to  cause  the  seine  to  spread 
laterally  in  the  water,  pieces  of  lead  are  fastened  to 
one  side,  and  pieces  of  cork  to  the  other. 

15.  In  spreading  the  seine  in  the  water,  one  end  is 
retained  on  land  by  a  number  of  persons,  while  the 
rest  of  it  is  strung  along  from  a  boat,  which  is  rowed 

O 


158 


THE  FISHERMAN. 


in  the  direction  from  the  shore.  The  seine  having 
been  thus  extended,  the  further  end  is  brought  round, 
in  a  sweeping  manner,  to  the  shore  ;  and  the  fish  that 
may  be  included  are  taken  into  the  boats  with  a  scoop- 
net,  or  are  hauled  out  upon  the  shore.  In  this  way, 
two  or  three  hundred  thousands  are  sometimes  taken 
at  a  single  haul.  This  fish  dies  immediately  after 
having  been  taken  from  the  water ;  hence  the  com¬ 
mon  expression,  “  As  dead  as  a  herring.” 

16.  The  herrings  are  sold,  as  soon  as  caught,  to 
people  who  come  to  the  fishing  stations  to  procure 
them  ;  or,  in  case  an  immediate  sale  cannot  be  effect¬ 
ed,  they  are  cured  with  salt,  and  afterwards  smoked, 
or  continued  in  brine.  In  the  Southern  states,  the 
herring  is  generally  thought  to  be  superior  to  any 
other  fish  for  the  purpose  of  salting  down;  although 
the  shad  and  some  others  are  preferred  while  fresh. 

17.  The  importance  of  this  fishery  is  superior  to 
that  of  any  other ;  since  the  benefits  resulting  from 
it  are  more  generally  diffused.  The  ancients,  how¬ 
ever,  do  not  appear  to  have  had  any  knowledge  of 
this  valuable  fish.  It  was  first  brought  into  notice  by 
the  Dutch,  who  are  said  to  have  commenced  the  her¬ 
ring  fishery  on  the  coasts  of  Scotland,  in  the  year 
1164,  and  to  have  retained  almost  exclusive  possess¬ 
ion  of  it,  until  the  beginning  of  the  present  century. 

18.  The  shad  is  a  species  of  herring,  which  inhab¬ 
its  the  sea  near  the  mouths  of  rivers,  and  which  as¬ 
cends  them  in  the  spring,  to  deposit  its  spawn.  It  is 
caught  in  all  the  rivers  terminating  on  our  Atlantic 
coasts,  as  well  as  in  some  of  the  rivers  of  the  North 
of  Europe.  This  fish  is  captured  in  the  same  man¬ 
ner  and  often  at  the  same  time  with  the  common  her¬ 
ring.  It  is  highly  esteemed  in  a  fresh  state  ;  although 
it  is  not  so  good  when  salted,  as  the  herring  and  some 
other  kinds  of  fish. 

19.  Mackerel  Fishery . — The  common  mackerel  is 


THE  FISHERMAN. 


159 


a  migratory  fish,  like  the  herring,  and  ranks  next  to 
that  tribe  of  fishes  in  regard  to  numbers,  and  perhaps 
in  general  utility.  Its  place  of  retirement  in  the  win- 
ter,  is  not  positively  known ;  but  it  is  supposed  by 
some,  to  be  far  north  of  the  arctic  circle ;  and  by 
others,  to  be  in  some  part  of  the  Atlantic  farther 
south.  Shoals  of  this  fish  appear  on  the  coasts  of 
both  Europe  and  America,  in  the  summer  season.  Of 
this  fish  there  are  twenty-two  species. 

20.  The  mode  of  catching  the  mackerel,  is  either 
with  a  net  or  with  hooks  and  lines.  The  latter  meth¬ 
od  succeeds  best,  when  the  boat  or  vessel  is  driven 
forward  by  a  gentle  breeze ;  and,  in  this  case,  a  bit 
of  red  cloth,  or  a  painted  feather,  is  usually  employed 
as  a  bait.  Several  hooks  are  fastened  to  a  single 
line,  and  the  fish  bite  so  readily,  that  the  fishermen 
occasionally  take  one  on  each  hook  at  a  haul.  The 
mackerel  is  cured  in  the  usual  manner,  and  packed  in 
barrels,  to  be  sold  to  dealers. 

21.  This  fish  was  well  known  to  the  ancients,  as 
one  of  its  places  of  resort,  in  the  summer,  was  the 
Mediterranean  Sea.  It  was  highly  esteemed  by  the 
Romans,  for  the  reason,  that  it  was  the  best  fish  for 
making  their  sarum,  a  kind  of  pickle  or  sauce  much 
esteemed  by  this  luxurious  people. 

22.  Salmon  Fishery. — The  salmon  is  a  celebrated 
fish,  belonging  to  the  trout  genus.  It  inhabits  the 
seas  on  the  European  coasts,  from  Spitzbergen  to 
Western  France  ;  and,  on  the  western  shore  of  the 
Atlantic,  it  is  found  from  Greenland  to  the  Hudson 
River.  It  also  abounds  on  both  coasts  of  the  North 
Pacific  Ocean.  The  length  of  full-grown  salmon  is 
from  three  to  four  feet ;  and  their  weight,  from  ten  to 
fifteen  pounds. 

23.  As  soon  as  the  ice  has  left  the  rivers,  the  sal¬ 
mon  begin  to  ascend  them,  for  the  purpose  of  deposit¬ 
ing  their  spawn.  It  has  been  ascertained,  that  these 


160 


THE  FISHERMAN. 


fish  retain  a  remarkable  attachment  to  the  river  which 
gave  them  birth ;  and,  having  once  deposited  their 
spawn,  they  ever  afterwards  choose  the  same  spot  for 
their  annual  deposits.  This  latter  fact  has  been  es¬ 
tablished  by  a  curious  Frenchman,  who,  fastening  a 
ring  to  the  posterior  fin  of  several  salmon,  and  then 
setting  them  at  liberty,  found  that  some  of  them  made 
their  appearance  at  the  same  place  three  successive 
seasons,  bearing  with  them  this  distinguishing  mark. 

24.  In  ascending  the  rivers,  these  fish  usually  pro¬ 
ceed  together  in  great  numbers,  mostly  swimming  in 
the  middle  of  the  stream ;  and,  being  very  timid,  a 
sudden  noise,  or  even  a  floating  piece  of  timber,  will 
sometimes  turn  them  from  their  course,  and  send 
them  back  to  the  sea  ;  but  having  advanced  a  while, 
they  assume  a  determined  resolution,  overcoming  rap¬ 
ids  and  leaping  over  falls  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  in  per¬ 
pendicular  height. 

25.  Salmon  are  caught  chiefly  with  seines,  and 
sometimes  seven  or  eight  hundred  are  captured  at  a 
single  haul ;  but  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  is  the  most 
usual  number,  even  in  a  favorable  season.  They  are 
also  taken  in  weirs ,  which  are  inclosures  so  con¬ 
structed  that  they  admit  the  ingress,  but  not  the  re¬ 
gress  of  the  fish. 

26.  The  salmon  fisheries  are  numerous  in  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  as  well  as  in  most  of  the  north¬ 
ern  countries  of  Europe.  In  the  United  States,  the 
most  valuable  fisheries  of  this  kind  are  on  the  rivers 
in  Maine,  whence  the  towns  and  cities  farther  south 
are  principally  supplied  with  these  fish,  in  a  fresh 
condition.  They  are  preserved  in  ice,  while  on  their 
way  to  market.  In  the  cured  state,  salmon  is  highly 
esteemed  ;  although  it  is  not  easily  digested. 

27.  Cod  Fishery. — There  are  several  species  of 
cod-fish,  or  gadus  ;  but  the  most  important  and  inter¬ 
esting  of  the  class,  is  the  common  cod.  These  fish 


THE  FISHERMAN. 


161 


are  found  in  great  abundance  on  the  south  and  west 
coasts  of  Iceland,  on  the  coasts  of  Norway,  off  the 
Orkney  and  Western  Isles,  and  in  the  Baltic  Sea. 
Farther  south,  they  gradually  diminish  in  numbers, 
and  entirely  disappear,  some  distance  from  the  Straits 
of  Gibraltar. 

28.  But  the  great  rendezvous  of  cod-fish  is  on  the 
coasts  of  Labrador,  the  banks  of  Newfoundland,  Cape 
Breton,  and  Nova  Scotia.  They  are  invited  to  these 
situations  by  the  abundance  of  small  fish,  worms,  and 
other  marine  animals  of  the  crustaceous  and  testa¬ 
ceous  kinds,  on  which  they  feed.  The  fishermen  re¬ 
sort,  in  the  greatest  numbers,  to  the  banks,  which 
stretch  along  the  eastern  coasts  of  Newfoundland 
about  four  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  The  water  on 
these  banks  varies  from  twenty  to  fifty  fathoms  in 
depth. 

29.  By  negociations  with  Great  Britain,  the  French, 
Dutch,  Spanish,  and  Americans,  have  acquired  the 
right  to  catch  and  cure  fish,  both  on  the  Grand  Banks, 
and  several  other  places  on  the  coasts  of  the  English 
possessions  in  North  America.  The  number  of  ves¬ 
sels  employed  on  the  several  fishing  stations,  during 
each  successive  season,  amounts  to  six  or  seven  thou¬ 
sand,  each  measuring  from  forty  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty  tons,  and  carrying  eight  or  ten  men. 

30.  The  fishing  on  the  Grand  Banks  commences 
in  April,  and  continues  until  about  the  first  of  August. 
Here,  the  fish  are  caught  exclusively  with  hooks, 
which  are  usually  baited  with  a  small  fish  called  the 
capelin,  as  well  as  with  herring,  clams,  and  the  gills' 
of  the  cod  itself.  But  this  fish  is  not  very  particular 
in  its  choice  of  bait,  it  biting  greedily  at  almost  any 
kind  which  may  be  presented.  An  expert  fisherman 
will  frequently  catch  from  one  hundred  to  three  hun¬ 
dred  cod  in  a  single  day. 

31.  As  soon  as  the  fish  have  been  caught,  their 

O  2 


162 


THE  FISHERMAN. 


heads  are  cut  off,  and  their  entrails  taken  out.  They 
are  then  salted  away  in  bulk  in  the  hold  ;  and,  after 
having  lain  three  or  four  days  to  drain,  they  are  taken 
to  another  part  of  the  vessel,  and  again  salted  in  the 
same  manner.  The  fishermen  from  New-England, 
however,  give  them  but  one  salting  while  on  the  fish¬ 
ing  station ;  but,  as  soon  as  a  cargo  has  been  obtain¬ 
ed,  it  is  carried  home,  where  conveniences  have  been 
prepared  for  curing  the  fish  to  greater  advantage. 
By  pursuing  this  plan,  two  or  three  trips  are  made 
during  the  season.  Some  of  the  fish  are  injured  be¬ 
fore  they  are  taken  from  the  vessel ;  and  these  form 
an  inferior  quality,  called  Jamaica  jish,  because  such 
are  generally  sold  in  that  island,  for  the  use  of  the 
negroes. 

32.  The  fish  which  are  caught  on  the  coasts  of 
Labrador,  at  the  entrance  of  Hudson’s  Bay,  in  the 
Straits  of  Belleisle,  and  on  fishing  stations  of  similar 
advantages,  are  cured  on  the  shore.  They  are  first 
slightly  salted,  and  then  dried  in  the  sun,  either  on 
the  rocks,  or  on  scaffolds  erected  for  the  purpose. 
In  these  coast  fisheries,  the  operations  commence  in 
June,  and  continue  until  some  time  in  August.  The 
cod  are  caught  in  large  seines,  as  well  as  with  hook 
and  line. 

33.  Seal  Fishery . — There  are  several  species  of 
the  seal  ;  but  the  kind  which  is  most  numerous,  and 
most  important  in  a  commercial  view,  is  the  common 
seal.  It  is  found  on  the  sea-coasts  throughout  the 
world,  but  in  the  greatest  numbers  in  very  cold  cli¬ 
mates,  where  it  furnishes  the  rude  inhabitants  with 
nearly  all  their  necessaries  and  luxuries. 

34.  The  animal  is  valuable  to  the  civilized  world, 
on  account  of  its  skin  and  oil.  The  oil  is  pure,  and 
is  adapted  to  all  the  purposes  to  which  that  from  the 
whale  is  applied.  In  the  spring  of  the  year,  the  seals 
are  very  fat ;  and,  at  that  time,  even  small  ones  will 

« 


THE  FISHERMAN. 


163 


yield  four  or  five  gallons  of  oil.  The  leather  manu¬ 
factured  from  the  skins,  is  employed  in  trunk-making, 
in  saddlery,  and  in  making  boots  and  shoes. 

35.  Since  the  whale  fishery  has  declined  in  pro¬ 
ductiveness  in  the  northern  seas,  sealing  has  arisen 
in  importance  ;  and  accordingly,  vessels  are  now  fre¬ 
quently  fitted  out  for  this  purpose,  in  both  Europe  and 
America  ;  whereas,  a  few  years  since,  it  was  regard¬ 
ed  only  as  a  part  of  the  objects  of  a  whaling  voyage. 

36.  Our  countrymen  of  New-England  have  partic¬ 
ularly  distinguished  themselves  in  this  branch  of  bu¬ 
siness  ;  and  the  part  of  the  globe  which  they  have 
found  to  be  the  most  favorable  to  their  objects,  has 
been  the  islands  in  the  Antarctic  Ocean.  A  sealing 
voyage  to  that  quarter  often  occupies  three  years, 
during  which  time  the  hunters  are  exposed  to  great 
hardships,  being  often  left  in  small  detachments  on 
desolate  islands,  for  the  purpose  of  pursuing  the  ani¬ 
mals  to  greater  advantage. 

37.  The  best  time  for  sealing  in  the  Arctic  Ocean, 
is  in  March  and  April,  when  the  seals  are  often  met 
with  in  droves  of  several  thousands  on  the  ice,  which 
is  either  fixed,  or  floating  in  large  pieces.  When  the 
sealers  meet  with  one  of  these  droves,  they  attack  the 
animals  with  clubs,  and  stun  them  by  a  single  blow 
on  the  nose.  After  all  that  can  be  reached,  have  been 
disabled  in  this  way,  the  skin  and  blubber  are  taken 
off  together. 

38.  This  operation  is  called  flenching,  and  is  some¬ 
times  a  horrible  business  ;  since  some  of  the  seals, 
being  merely  stunned,  occasionally  recover,  and,  in 
their  denuded  state,  often  make  battle,  and  even  leap 
into  the  water,  and  swim  off.  The  skins,  with  the 
blubber  attached  to  them,  are  packed  away  in  the 
hold  ;  and,  in  case  the  vessel  is  to  return  home  soon, 
they  are  suffered  to  remain  there,  until  she  arrives  in 
port ;  but,  when  this  is  not  expected,  the  skins,  as 


164 


THE  FISHERMAN. 


soon  as  convenient,  are  separated  from  the  blubber, 
and  the  latter  is  put  into  casks.  There  are  other 
methods  of  capturing  the  seal  ;  but  it  is,  perhaps,  not 
necessary  to  enter  into  further  details. 

39.  Whale  Fishery. — There  are  five  species  of  the 
whale,  of  which  the  Balance  Physalis ,  or  razor-back, 
is  the  largest..  When  full  grown,  it  is  supposed  to  be 
about  one  hundred  feet  in  length,  and  thirty  or  thirty- 
five  feet  in  circumference.  It  is  so  powerful  an  ani¬ 
mal,  that  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  capture  it ;  and, 
when  captured,  it  yields  but  little  oil  and  whalebone. 
The  species  to  which  whalers  direct  their  attention, 
is  denominated  the  Mystecetus,  or  the  right  whale. 

40.  The  mystecetus  is  found,  in  the  greatest  num¬ 
bers,  in  the  Greenland  seas,  about  the  island  of  Spitz- 
bergen,  in  Davis’  Straits,  in  Hudson’s  and  Baffin’s 
Bays,  and  in  the  northern  parts  of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
It  is  also  found  in  the  Antarctic  Ocean,  and  along  the 
coasts  of  Africa  and  South  America,  and  occasionally 
on  the  coasts  of  the  United  States. 

41.  Each  vessel  engaged  in  this  fishery,  is  gener¬ 
ally  fitted  out  by  several  individuals,  who  receive,  of 
the  return  cargo  of  oil  and  whalebone,  a  portion  cor¬ 
responding  to  the  amount  which  they  have  contribu¬ 
ted  to  the  common  stock,  after  the  men  have  received 
their  proportion  of  it.  Should  the  voyage  prove  al¬ 
together  unsuccessful,  which  seldom  happens,  the 
owners  lose  the  amount  of  the  outfit,  and  the  captain 
and  hands,  their  time. 

42.  The  whalers  commence  operations  in  the  north¬ 
ern  latitudes,  in  the  month  of  May  ;  but  the  whales 
are  most  plentiful  in  June,  when  they  are  met  with 
between  the  latitudes  75°  and  80°,  in  almost  every 
variety  of  situation,  sometimes  in  the  open  seas,  at 
others  in  the  loose  ice,  or  at  the  edges  of  the  fields 
and  fioes,  which  are  near  the  main,  impervious  body 
of  ice. 


THE  FISHERMAN. 


165 


43.  On  the  fishing  station,  the  boats  are  kept  al¬ 
ways  ready  for  instant  service,  being  suspended  from 
davits,  or  cranes,  by  the  sides  of  the  ship,  and  being 
furnished  with  a  lance  and  a  harpoon,  to  the  latter  of 
which  is  attached  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  fath¬ 
oms  of  strong  but  flexible  rope.  When  the  weather 
and  situation  are  favorable,  the  crow's  nest ,  which  is 
a  station  at  the  mast-head,  is  occupied  by  some  per¬ 
son  with  a  telescope. 

44.  The  moment  a  whale  is  discovered,  notice  is 
given  to  the  watch  below,  who  instantly  man  one  or 
two  boats,  and  row  with  swiftness  to  the  place. 
Sometimes,  a  boat  is  kept  manned  and  afloat  near  the 
ship,  that  no  time  may  be  lost  in  making  ready ;  or, 
two  or  three  are  sent  out  on  the  look-out ,  having  every 
thing  ready  for  an  attack. 

45.  The  whale  being  very  timid  and  cautious,  the 
men  endeavor  to  approach  him  unperceived,  and  strike 
him  with  the  harpoon,  before  he  is  aware  of  their 
presence.  Sometimes,  however,  he  perceives  their 
approach,  and  dives  into  the  water,  to  avoid  them ; 
but,  being  compelled  to  come  again  to  the  surface  to 
breathe,  or,  as  it  is  termed,  to  blow,  they  make  another 
effort  to  harpoon  him.  In  this  way,  the  whalers 
often  pursue  him  for  a  considerable  time,  and  fre¬ 
quently  without  final  success.  The  animal,  when  un¬ 
molested,  remains  about  two  minutes  on  the  surface, 
during  which  time  he  blows  eight  or  nine  times,  and 
then  descends  for  five  or  ten  minutes,  and  often,  while 
feeding,  for  fifteen  or  twenty. 

46.  When  the  whale  has  been  struck,  he  generally 
dives  towards  the  bottom  of  the  sea  either  perpen¬ 
dicularly  or  obliquely,  where  he  remains  about  thirty 
minutes,  and  sometimes  nearly  an  hour.  The  har¬ 
poon  has,  near  its  point,  two  barbs,  or  withers,  which 
cause  it  to  remain  fast  in  the  integuments  under  the 
skin  ;  and  the  rope  attached  to  it,  is  coiled  in  the  bow 


166 


THE  FISHERMAN. 


of  the  boat  in  such  a  way,  that  it  runs  out  without  in¬ 
terruption.  When  more  line  is  wanted,  it  is  made 
known  to  the  other  boats  by  the  elevation  of  an  oar. 
Should  the  rope  prove  too  short  for  the  great  descent 
of  the  whale,  it  becomes  necessary  to  sever  it  from 
the  boat,  lest  the  latter  be  drawn  under  water ;  for 
this  emergency,  the  harpooner  stands  ready  with  a 
knife. 

47.  When  the  whale  reappears,  the  assisting  boats 
make  for  the  place  with  their  greatest  speed  ;  and,  if 
possible,  each  harpooner  plunges  his  weapon  into  the 
back  of  the  creature.  On  convenient  occasions,  he 
is  also  plied  with  lances,  which  are  thrust  into  his 
vitals.  At  length,  overcome  with  wounds,  and  ex¬ 
hausted  by  the  loss  of  blood,  his  approaching  dissolu¬ 
tion  is  indicated  by  a  discharge  of  blood  from  his 
blow-holes,  and  sometimes  by  a  convulsive  struggle, 
in  which  his  tail,  raised,  whirled,  and  jerked  in  the 
air,  resounds  to  the  distance  of  several  miles.  The 
whale  having  been  thus  conquered,  and  deprived  of 
life,  the  captors  express  their  joy  with  loud  huzzas, 
and  communicate  the  information  to  the  ship  by  stri¬ 
king  their  flag. 

48.  A  position  near  a  large  field  of  solid  ice  is 
very  advantageous;  because  a  whale  diving  under  it 
is  obliged  to  return  again  to  blow  ;  and  this  circum¬ 
stance  gives  opportunity  to  make  upon  him  several 
attacks.  Close  fields  of  drift  ice  present  great  diffi¬ 
culties  ;  since  the  boats  cannot  always  pass  through 
them  with  sufficient  celerity.  In  that  case,  the  men 
sometimes  travel  over  the  ice,  leaping  from  one  piece 
to  another,  and  carrying  with  them  lances  and  har¬ 
poons,  with  which  they  pierce  the  animal  as  often  as 
possible.  If  they  succeed  in  thus  killing  him,  they 
drag  him  back  under  the  ice  with  the  fast  line. 

49.  The  whale,  having  been  towed  to  the  ship,  and 
secured  alongside,  is  raised  a  little  by  means  of  pow- 


THE  FISHERMAN. 


167 


erful  blocks,  or  tackle.  The  harpooners,  with  spurs 
fastened  to  the  bottom  of  their  feet  to  prevent  them 
from  slipping,  descend  upon  the  huge  body,  and,  with 
spades  anff  knives  adapted  to  this  particular  purpose, 
cut  the  biuober  into  oblong  pieces,  which  are  peeled 
off,  and  hoisted  upon  deck  with  the  speck-tackle. 
These  long  strips  are  then  cut  into  chunks,  which  are 
immediately  packed  away  in  the  hold.  After  the  an¬ 
imal  has  been  thus  successively  flenched,  and  the 
whale-bone  taken  out,  the  carcase  is  dismissed  to  the 
sharks,  bears,  and  birds  of  prey. 

50.  The  blubber  is  somewhat  similar,  in  consist¬ 
ence,  to  the  fat  which  surrounds  the  body  of  the  hog, 
although  not  quite  so  solid.  In  young  whales,  its 
color  is  yellowish  white ;  and,  in  old  ones,  yellow  or 
red.  Its  thickness  varies  in  different  parts  and  in  dif¬ 
ferent  individuals,  from  eight  to  twenty  inches.  The 
weight  of  a  whale  sixty  feet  in  length,  is  about  seven¬ 
ty  tons,  of  which  the  blubber  weighs  about  thirty  tons. 

51.  The  whale-bone  is  situated  in  the  mouth. 
About  three  hundred  laminae,  or  blades,  grow  parallel 
to  each  other  on  either  side  of  the  upper  jaw,  being 
about  half  an  inch  thick,  and  ten  or  twelve  inches 
wide,  where  they  are  united  by  the  gum.  As  the 
‘whale  grows  old,  they  increase  in  length,  and  ap¬ 
proach  from  each  side  to  the  roof  of  th£  mouth.  The 
whale,  while  feeding,  swims  with  his  mouth  wide  open, 
which  admits  a  great  quantity  of  water  containing 
insects  or  small  fish,  on  which  he  subsists.  The 
whale-bone  acts  as  a  filter,  or  strainer,  in  retaining 
the  little  animals,  while  the  water  passes  off  at  the 
corners  of  the  mouth. 

52.  Before  the  whalers  leave  the  fishing  station, 
they  cut  the  blubber  into  small  pieces,  and  put  it  into 
close  casks.  Sometimes,  however,  when  the  ship  has 
been  very  successful,  there  is  a  deficiency  of  casks. 
In  that  case,  it  is  slightly  salted,  and  packed  away  in 


168 


THE  FISHERMAN. 


the  hold.  But,  as  the  ship  must  necessarily  pass 
through  a  warmer  climate,  on  her  voyage  homeward, 
the  blubber,  while  packed  in  this  manner,  is  liable  to 
melt  and  be  wasted,  unless  the  weather  should  prove 
uncommonly  cool. 

53.  When  the  vessel  has  arrived  in  port,  the  blub¬ 
ber  is  found  to  be  melted.  To  separate  the  oil  from 
the  fritters,  or  fenks,  as  the  integuments  and  other  im¬ 
purities  are  called,  the  contents  of  the  casks  are  pour¬ 
ed  into  copper  boilers,  and  heated.  The  heat  causes  a 
part  of  the  latter  to  sink  to  the  bottom,  and  the  for¬ 
mer  is  drawn  off  into  coolers,  where  other  extraneous 
matters  settle.  The  pure  or  fine  oil  is  then  drawn 
off  for  sale.  An  inferior  quality  of  oil,  called  brown 
oil ,  is  obtained  from  the  dregs  of  the  blubber. 

54.  The  spermaceti  cachalot,  or  Physeter  Macro . 
cephalus,  is  an  animal  belonging  to  the  norwal  genus  ; 
although  it  is  generally  denominated  the  spermaceti 
whale.  It  is  found  in  the  greatest  abundance  in  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  where  it  is  sought  by  American  and 
other  whalers,  for  the  sake  of  the  oil  and  spermaceti. 
This  animal  is  gregarious,  and  is  often  met  with  in 
herds  containing  more  than  two  hundred  individuals. 

55.  Whenever  a  number  of  the  cachalot  are  seen, 
several  boats,  manned  each  with  six  men  provided 
with  harpoons  and  lances,  proceed  in  pursuit ;  and, 
if  possible,  each  boat  strikes  or  fastens  to  a  distinct 
animal,  which,  in  most  cases,  is  overcome  without 
much  difficulty.  Being  towed  to  the  ship,  it  is  de¬ 
prived  of  its  blubber,  and  the  matter  contained  in  the 
head,  which  consists  of  spermaceti  combined  with  a 
small  proportion  of  oil.  The  oil  is  reduced  from  the 
blubber,  soon  after  it  has  been  taken  on  board,  in  “  try 
works,”  with  which  every  ship  engaged  in  this  fishery 
is  provided. 

56.  About  three  tons  of  oil  are  commonly  obtained 
from  a  large  cachalot  of  this  species,  and  from  one 


THE  FISHERMAN. 


169 


to  two  tons  from  a  small  one,  besides  the  head-mat¬ 
ter.  The  manner  in  which  these  two  products  are 
treated,  when  brought  into  port,  has  been  described 
in  the  article  on  candle-making. 

57.  The  Biscayans  were  the  first  people  who  pros¬ 
ecuted  the  whale  fishery,  as  a  commercial  pursuit. 
In  the  twelfth,  thirteenth,  and  fourteenth  centuries, 
they  carried  on  this  business  to  a  considerable  ex¬ 
tent  ;  but  the  whales  taken  by  them  were  not  so  large 
as  those  which  have  since  been  captured  in  the  polar 
seas.  At  length,  the  whales  ceased  to  visit  the  Bay 
of  Biscay,  and  the  fishery  in  that  quarter  was  of 
course  terminated. 

58.  The  voyages  of  the  English  and  Dutch  to  the 
Northern  Ocean,  in  search  of  a  passage  to  India,  led 
to  the  discovery  of  the  principal  haunts  of  the  whale, 
and  induced  individuals  in  those  nations  to  fit  out  ves¬ 
sels  to  pursue  these  animals  in  the  northern  latitudes, 
the  harpooners  and  part  of  the  crews  being  Biscay¬ 
ans.  The  whales  were  found  in  the  greatest  abun- 
dance  about  the  island  of  Spitzbergen,  and  were,  at 
first,  so  easily  captured,  that  extra  vessels  were  sent 
out  in  ballast,  to  assist  in  bringing  home  the  oil  and 
whalebone  ;  but  the  whales,  retiring  to  the  centre  of 
the  ocean,  and  to  the  other  side  to  the  Greenland  seas, 
soon  became  scarce  about  that  island. 

59.  The  whale  fishery  was  revived,  as  above  sta¬ 
ted,  about  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  ; 
and,  with  the  Dutch,  it  was  in  the  most  flourishing 
condition  in  1680,  when  it  employed  about  two  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixty  ships,  and  fourteen  thousand  men. 
The  wars  about  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  cen¬ 
tury,  extending  their  baleful  influence  to  almost  every 
part  of  the  ocean,  annihilated  this  branch  of  business 
among  the  Dutch  ;  and,  in  1828,  only  a  single  whale- 
ship  sailed  from  Holland. 

60.  The  English  whale  fishery  was,  at  first,  car- 

P 


170 


THE  FISHERMAN. 


ried  on  by  companies  enjoying  exclusive  privileges ; 
but  the  pursuit  was  attended  with  little  success.  In 
1732,  Parliament  decreed  a  bounty  of  twenty  shillings 
per  ton,  on  every  whaler  measuring  more  than  two 
hundred  tons  ;  and,  although  this  bounty  was  increas¬ 
ed  in  1749  to  forty  shillings,  yet  the  English  whale 
fishery  has  never  been  very  flourishing. 

61.  The  whale  fishery  has  been  carried  on  with 
greater  success  from  the  United  States  than  from  any 
other  country.  It  was  begun  by  the  colonists,  on 
their  own  shores,  at  a  very  early  period  ;  but  the 
whales  having  abandoned  the  coasts  of  North  Amer¬ 
ica,  these  hardy  navigators  pursued  them  into  the 
northern  and  southern  oceans. 

62.  The  number  of  American  vessels  now  employ¬ 
ed  in  pursuit  of  the  spermaceti  cachalot  and  the  mys- 
tecetus,  amounts  to  about  four  hundred,  and  the  num¬ 
ber  of  men  to  about  ten  thousand.  The  inhabitants 
of  the  island  of  Nantucket,  and  of  the  town  of  New- 
Bedford,  are  more  extensively  engaged  in  these  fish¬ 
eries  than  the  people  of  any  other  part  of  the  United 
States. 


THE  SHIPWRIGHT. 

1.  The  earliest  notice  we  have  of  the  construction 
of  a  building  to  float  on  water,  is  that  which  relates 
to  Noah’s  Ark.  This  was  the  largest  vessel  that  has 
ever  been  built,  and  the  circumstance  proves  that  the 
arts,  at  that  early  period,  had  been  brought  to  con¬ 
siderable  perfection  ;  yet,  as  several  centuries  had 
elapsed,  after  the  flood,  before  the  descendants  of 
Noah  had  much  occasion  for  floating  vessels,  the  art 
of  constructing  them  seems  to  have  been  measurably 
lost. 

2.  Early  records,  which  perhaps  are  worthy  of 
credit,  state  that  the  Egyptians  first  traversed  the 
river  Nile  upon  rafts,  then  in  the  canoe  ;  and  that,  to 
these  succeeded  the  boat,  built  with  joist,  fastened  to¬ 
gether  with  wooden  pins,  and  rendered  water-tight  by 


172 


THE  SHIPWRIGHT. 


interposing  the  leaves  of  the  papyrus.  To  this  boat 
was,  at  length,  added  a  mast  of  acanthus,  and  a  sail 
of  papyrus  ;  but,  being  prejudiced  against  the  sea  be¬ 
cause  it  swallowed  up  their  sacred  river,  which  they 
worshipped  as  a  god,  they  never  attempted  to  con- 
truct  vessels  adapted  to  marine  navigation. 

3.  The  Phoenicians,  a  nation  nearly  as  ancient  as 
the  Egyptian,  being  situated  directly  on  the  sea,  with¬ 
out  the  advantages  of  a  noble  river,  were  compelled 
to  provide  means  for  sailing  on  a  wider  expanse  of 
water.  It  is  said,  however,  that  they  first  traversed 
the  Mediterranean,  and  even  visited  distant  islands, 
with  no  better  means  of  conveyance  than  a  raft  of 
timber.  This  is  rendered  somewhat  probable,  from 
the  fact,  that  the  Peruvians,  even  at  the  present  time, 
venture  upon  the  Pacific  Ocean  on  their  balza,  a  raft 
made  from  a  spongy  tree  of  that  name. 

4.  The  vessels  first  constructed  by  the  Phoenicians, 
were  used  for  commercial  purposes.  They  were  flat- 
bottomed,  broad,  and  of  a  small  draught ;  and  those 
of  the  Carthaginians  and  Greeks  were  similar  in 
shape.  The  ships  of  war,  in  early  times,  were  gen¬ 
erally  mere  row-boats,  in  which  the  combatants  rush¬ 
ed  upon  each  other,  and  decided  the  combat  by  valor 
and  physical  strength. 

5.  By  successive  improvements,  the  ships  of  an¬ 
tiquity  were,  at  length,  brought  to  combine  good  pro¬ 
portion  with  considerable  beauty.  The  prows  were 
sometimes  ornamented  with  the  sculptured  figures  of 
heathen  deities,  and  otherwise  adorned  with  paint  and 
gilding,  while  the  sterns,  which  were  usually  in  the 
form  of  a  shield,  were  elaborately  wrought  in  carved 
work.  The  approved  length  of  a  ship  of  war,  was 
six  or  eight  times  its  breadth ;  and  that  for  mercan¬ 
tile  purposes,  four  times  the  breadth  ;  hence,  the  dis¬ 
tinction  of  long  ships,  and  round  ships. 

6.  Both  the  long  and  round  ships  had  a  single  mast, 
which  could  be  taken  down  or  elevated  at  pleasure. 


THE  SHIPWRIGHT. 


173 


These  vessels  were,  however,  propelled  with  oars  on 
occasions  that  required  it ;  and  the  former,  in  their 
improved  state,  were  properly  galleys  with  one,  two, 
or  three  banks  of  oars,  which  extended  from  one  end 
of  the  vessel  to  the  other.  The  rowers  were  all 
placed  under  the  deck ;  and,  in  time  of  battle,  the 
combatants  contended  above,  being  in  part  defended 
from  the  missiles  of  opposing  foes  by  shields  carried 
on  the  arm,  and  by  screens  and  towers  placed  on  the 
deck.  The  bow  of  each  vessel  was  armed  with  a 
brazen  or  iron  beak,  with  which  the  contending  par¬ 
ties  often  stove  in  the  sides  of  each  other’s  vessels. 

7.  The  general  size  of  vessels  in  the  best  days  of 
antiquity,  was  not  greater  than  that  of  our  sloops 
and  schooners ;  but  there  are  instances  on  record, 
which  prove  that  they  occasionally  equalled  in  capa¬ 
city  the  largest  of  modern  times.  In  the  early  ages, 
they  were  very  small,  and,  for  several  centuries,  were 
drawn  upon  the  shore  at  the  termination  of  every 
voyage.  Stranding,  however,  became  impracticable, 
after  the  increase  in  size,  and  the  addition  of  the  keel. 
The  anchor  and  cable  were,  therefore,  invented,  to 
confine  the  ship  at  a  suitable  distance  from  the  shore. 
At  first,  the  anchor  was  nothing  more  than  a  large 
stone.  Afterwards,  it  was  wood  and  stone  combined  ; 
and,  finally,  iron  was  the  sole  material. 

8.  The  invasion  of  the  Roman  empire  by  the  north¬ 
ern  barbarians,  caused  the  operations  of  war  to  be 
almost  exclusively  conducted  on  the  land.  This,  to¬ 
gether  with  the  destruction  of  commerce  during  the 
general  desolation  of  those  ruthless  incursions,  and 
the  barbarism  of  the  conquerors,  occasioned  a  retro¬ 
gression,  and,  in  some  parts  of  Europe,  nearly  the 
total  destruction  of  the  art  of  building  ships. 

9.  The  active  trade  which  arose  in  the  Mediterra¬ 
nean,  during  the  middle  ages,  and  the  naval  enter¬ 
prises  connected  with  the  Crusades,  occasioned  a  re- 

P  2 


174 


THE  SHIPWRIGHT. 


vival  of  the  art  of  constructing  ships  ;  yet,  it  did  not 
advance  beyond  the  condition  in  which  the  Cartha¬ 
ginians  had  left  it,  until  about  the  middle  of  the  four¬ 
teenth  century.  At  this  era,  the  inconsiderable  gal¬ 
leys  of  former  times  began  to  be  superseded  by  lar¬ 
ger  vessels,  in  which,  however,  oars  were  not  entirely 
dispensed  with. 

10.  The  great  change  in  the  general  construction 
of  vessels,  arose  from  the  discovery  of  the  polarity 
of  the  magnet,  and  the  application  of  astronomy  to 
nautical  pursuits  ;  for,  by  these  means,  the  mariner 
was  released  from  his  dependance  on  the  sight  of  the 
land,  in  guiding  his  vessel  on  its  course.  Larger 
ships  were  therefore  constructed,  capable  of  with¬ 
standing  more  violent  storms  and  loftier  waves. 

11.  To  the  Italians,  Catalans,  and  Portuguese,  was 
ship-building  most  considerably  indebted,  in  the  early 
days  of  its  revival.  The  Spaniards  followed  up  their 
discovery  of  the  New  World  with  a  rapid  improve¬ 
ment  in  both  the  form  and  size  of  their  ships ;  some 
of  which  even  rated  at  two  thousand  tons  burden.  In 
more  modern  times,  it  is  said,  that  the  Spaniards  and 
French  are  entitled  to  the  credit  of  nearly  all  the  im¬ 
provements  which  have  been  made  in  the  theory  of 
the  art,  the  English  having  never  contributed  essen¬ 
tially  to  advance  it,  although  the  greatest  naval  power 
of  this  or  any  other  time. 

12.  In  the  United  States,  very  great  improvements 
have  been  made  in  the  construction  of  vessels,  since 
the  commencement  of  the  present  century.  Our 
builders,  however,  are  less  guided  by  scientific  rules 
than  by  experience  and  a  practised  eye ;  yet,  it  is 
generally  conceded,  that  our  ships  of  war  and  first- 
rate  merchantmen,  are  superior  in  swiftness  and  beau¬ 
ty  to  those  of  any  other  country. 

13.  In  Europe,  the  first  thing  done  towards  build¬ 
ing  a  vessel,  is  to  exhibit  it  in  three  distinct  views  by 
as  many  separate  drawings  ;  but,  in  the  United  States, 


THE  SHIPWRIGHT. 


175 


the  builder  commences  by  framing  a  complete  wood¬ 
en  model  of  the  proposed  construction — the  thing  it¬ 
self  in  miniature.  From  this  practice  of  our  naval 
architects,  have  arisen  the  superior  beauty  and  excel¬ 
lence  of  our  vessels. 

14.  The  timber  generally  used  in  the  construction 
of  American  vessels,  is  live-oak,  pine,  chestnut,  lo¬ 
cust,  and  cedar.  ‘  The  trees  of  mature  growth  are 
chosen,  and  girdled  in  the  beginning  of  winter,  at 
which  time  they  contain  but  little  sap.  When  suffi¬ 
ciently  dry  and  hardened,  the  trees  are  felled  ;  and, 
after  the  timber  has  been  roughly  hewn,  it  is  carefully 
stored  in  some  dry,  airy  place,  not  much  exposed  to 
wind  or  sun. 

15.  In  collecting  ship-timber,  the  greatest  difficulty 
is  found  in  procuring  the  crooked  sticks,  which  form 
the  sides  or  ribs  of  the  skeleton  of  a  vessel.  In  coun¬ 
tries  where  ship-timber  has  become  an  object  of  care¬ 
ful  cultivation,  this  difficulty  is  anticipated  by  bending 
the  young  trees  to  the  desired  form,  and  confining 
them  there,  until  they  have  permanently  received  the 
proper  inclination.  The  timber  is  brought  to  market 
in  its  rough  state,  and  sold  by  the  foot. 

16.  The  timber  having  been  selected,  the  workmen 
proceed  to  fashion  the  various  parts  of  the  proposed 
vessel  with  appropriate  tools,  being  guided  in  their 
operations  by  patterns,  which  have  been  made  after 
the  exact  form  of  the  various  parts  of  the  model. 
Much  care  is  taken  to  avoid  cutting  the  wood  contrary 
to  the  grain,  that  its  strength  may  not  be  impaired. 

17.  After  all  the  parts  of  the  frame  have  been  made 
ready,  they  are  put  together.  The  several  blocks  of 
timber  on  which  the  vessel  is  raised,  are  called  the 
slocks ;  and  to  these  pieces,  the  foundation,  called  the 
keel,  is  temporarily  fastened  in  an  inclined  position. 
The  keel  is  inserted  into  the  stern-post  at  one  end, 
and  into  the  stem  at  the  other.  Th e  floor-timbers  are 
next  fixed  in  the  keel,  every  other  one  being  there 


176 


THE  SHIPWRIGHT. 


firmly  bolted  and  riveted.  Each  of  these  timbers  is 
a  branch  and  part  of  the  body  of  a  tree ;  and,  when 
composing  a  part  of  a  vessel,  they  bear  the  same  re¬ 
lation  to  it  as  the  ribs  to  the  human  body.  With 
equal  propriety,  the  keel  has  been  compared  to  the 
vertebral  column,  or  back-bone. 

18.  The  next  step  is  to  apply  and  fasten  the  planks, 
which  serve  not  only  to  exclude  the  water,  but  to  bind 
all  the  parts  firmly  and  harmoniously  together.  Sim¬ 
ple  as  this  part  of  the  operation  may  seem  to  be,  it  is 
the  most  difficult  to  be  effected,  and  requires  a  pre¬ 
concerted  plan  as  much  as  any  other  part  of  the  fab¬ 
ric.  When  it  is  necessary  to  bend  a  plank  at  the 
bow  or  stern,  it  is  heated  by  steam,  and  then  forced 
into  place  with  screws  and  levers.  The  planks  are 
fastened  with  iron  or  copper  bolts. 

19.  The  planking  having  been  finished,  and  sev¬ 
eral  particulars  attended  to,  which  cannot  be  well  un¬ 
derstood  from  description,  the  vessel  is  ready  for  the 
work  of  the  caulker,  who  carefully  stops  all  the  seams 
with  oakum,  and  smears  them  with  pitch.  After  the 
superfluous  pitch  has  been  cleared  away  with  the 
scrajper,  water  is  pumped  into  the  hold,  to  ascertain 
if  there  is  any  leak. 

20.  The  bottom  of  the  vessel  is  next  sheathed  ei¬ 
ther  with  sheets  of  copper  or  pine  boards,  to  protect 
it  from  the  worms.  The  latter  materials  are  em¬ 
ployed  when  the  planks  have  been  fastened  with  iron  ; 
since  the  copper  would  cause  the  bolt-heads  to  cor¬ 
rode,  if  placed  against  them.  In  either  case,  sheets 
of  paper,  soaked  in  hot  pitch,  are  interposed  between 
the  planks  and  the  sheathing. 

21.  The  vessel  is  now  ready  to  be  removed  from 
the  stocks  to  the  water.  This  removal  is  called 
launching,  which,  in  many  cases,  requires  much  skill 
in  the  preparation  and  successive  management.  If 
there  is  no  permanent  inclined  plane  in  the  slip,  on 
which  the  vessel  may  glide  into  the  water,  a  tempo- 


THE  SHIPWRIGHT. 


177 


rary  ofle  is  prepared,  consisting  of  two  platforms  of 
solid  timber,  erected  one  on  each  side  of  the  keel,  at 
a  distance  of  a  few  feet  from  it,  and  extending  from 
the  stem  into  the  water.  Upon  this  double  platform, 
which  is  called  the  ways,  is  erected  another  set  of 
timbers,  and  the  space  between  these  and  the  vessel 
is  filled  all  along  with  wedges.  The  whole  of  this 
superstructure  is  called  the  cradle,  and  the  extremi¬ 
ties  of  it  are  fastened  to  the  keel,  at  the  bow  and  stern, 
with  chains  and  ropes. 

22.  Every  thing  having  been  thus  prepared,  the 
wedges  are  simultaneously  driven  on  both  sides.  By 
this  means,  the  vessel  is  raised  from  the  stocks,  and 
made  to  rest  entirely  on  the  cradle.  After  the  shores 
have  been  all  removed,  the  cradle,  with  its  weighty 
burden,  begins  to  move  ;  and,  in  a  moment,  the  ves¬ 
sel  is  launched  upon  its  destined  element. 

23.  Among  the  ancients,  a  launch  was  ever  an  oc¬ 
casion  of  great  festivity.  The  mariners  were  crown¬ 
ed  with  wreaths,  and  the  ship  was  bedecked  with 
streamers  and  garlands.  Safely  afloat,  she  was  pu¬ 
rified  with  a  lighted  torch,  an  egg,  and  brimstone,  and 
solemnly  consecrated  to  the  god  whose  image  she 
bore.  In  our  less  poetic  times,  there  is  no  lack  of 
feasting  and  merriment ;  although  the  ceremony  of 
consecration  is  different,  the  oldest  sailor  on  board 
merely  breaking  a  bottle  of  wine  or  rum  over  the  fig¬ 
ure-head — still,  perchance,  the  image  of  father  Nep¬ 
tune  or  Apollo. 

24.  The  vessel,  now  brought  to  the  wharf,  is  to  be 
equipped.  The  mode  of  doing  this,  is  varied  accord¬ 
ing  as  it  may  be  a  ship,  brig,  hermaphrodite  brig, 
schooner,  or  sloop.  The  masts  are  first  erected,  and 
these  are  supplied  with  the  necessary  apparatus  of 
spars,  rigging,  and  sails.  The  latter  are  furnished 
by  the  sail-maker,  who  is  sometimes  denominated  the 
ship’s  tailor. 


THE  MARINER. 

1.  The  business  of  the  mariner  consists  in  navi¬ 
gating  ships  and  other  vessels  from  one  port  to  an¬ 
other.  This  is  an  employment  that  requires  much 
decisive  resolution  ;  and  Horace  has  well  said,  that 
“  his  breast  must  have  been  bound  with  oak  and  triple 
brass,  who  first  committed  his  frail  bark  to  the  tem¬ 
pestuous  sea.”  There  is  certainly  nothing  which 
speaks  louder  in  praise  of  human  ingenuity,  than  that 
art  by  which  man  is  able  to  forsake  the  land,  contend 
successfully  with  winds  and  waves,  and  reach,  with 
unerring  certainty,  his  destined  port  in  some  distant 
part  of  the  world. 

2.  Nor  are  the  skijl  and  intrepidity  exhibited  in  this 
arduous  employment,  more  worthy  of  our  admiration, 
than  the  wonderful  advantages  resulting  from  it ;  for, 


THE  MARINER. 


179 


we  are  indebted  to  the  exercise  of  this  art,  for  those 
improvements  in  our  condition,  which  arise  from  the 
exchange  of  the  superfluities  of  one  country  for  those 
of  another,  and,  above  all,  for  the  interchange  of  sen¬ 
timents,  which  renders  human  knowledge  coextensive 
with  the  world. 

3.  Ship-building  is  so  intimately  connected  with  the 
art  of  navigation,  that  the  historical  part  of  the  for¬ 
mer  subject  is  equally  applicable  to  the  latter.  It  is, 
therefore,  unnecessary  to  be  particular  on  this  point. 
We  shall  merely  supply  some  omissions  in  the  pre¬ 
ceding  article. 

4.  The  sailors  of  antiquity  confined  their  naviga¬ 
tion  chiefly  to  the  rivers,  lakes,  and  inland  seas,  sel¬ 
dom  venturing  out  of  sight  of  land,  unless,  from  their 
knowledge  of  the  coasts  ahead,  they  were  certain  to 
meet  with  it  again  in  a  short  time.  When  they 
thus  ventured  from  the  land,  or  were  driven  from 
it  by  tempests,  the  stars  and  planets  were  their  only 
guides. 

5.  The  qualifications  of  a  skilful  pilot  or  master, 
even  for  the  Mediterranean  seas,  in  those  days,  re¬ 
quired  more  study  and  more  practical  information, 
than  are  necessary  to  render  a  mariner  a  complete 
general  navigator,  in  the  present  improved  state  of 
the  science  of  navigation  ;  for  then  he  must  needs  be 
acquainted,  not  only  with  the  general  management  of 
the  ship,  but  also  with  all  the  ports,  land-marks,  rocks, 
quicksands,  and  other  dangers,  which  lay  in  the  track 
of  his  course.  Besides  this,  he  was  required  to  be 
familiar  with  the  course  of  the  winds,  and  the  indica¬ 
tions  that  preceded  them,  together  with  the  move¬ 
ments  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  and  the  influence  which 
they  were  supposed  to  exert  on  the  weather.  Nor 
was  the  ability  to  read  the  various  omens  which  were 
gathered  from  the  sighing  of  the  wind  in  the  trees,1 
the  murmurs  of  the  waters,  and  their  dash  upon  the 


ISO 


THE  MARINER. 


shore,  the  flight  of  birds,  and  the  gambol  of  fishes,  a 
qualification  to  be  dispensed  with. 

6.  A  voyage,  in  ancient  times,  was  a  momentous 
undertaking,  and  was  usually  preceded  by  sacrifices 
to  those  gods  who  were  supposed  to  preside  over  the 
winds  and  the  waves.  All  omens  were  carefully  re¬ 
garded  ;  and  a  very  small  matter,  such  as  the  perch¬ 
ing  of  swallows  on  the  ship,  or  an  accidental  sneeze 
to  the  left,  was  sufficient  to  delay  departure.  When, 
under  proper  auspices,  a  vessel  or  fleet  had  set  sail, 
and  had  advanced  some  distance,  it  was  customary 
to  release  a  number  of  doves,  which  had  been  brought 
from  home.  The  safe  arrival  of  these  birds  at  the 
houses  of  the  voyagers,  was  considered  an  auspicious 
omen  of  the  return  of  the  fleet. 

7.  Having  escaped  the  multiplied  dangers  of  the 
sea,  the  sailors,  on  their  return,  fulfilled  the  vows 
which  they  had  made  before  their  departure,  or  in 
seasons  of  peril,  offering  thanks  to  Neptune,  and  sac¬ 
rifices  to  Jupiter,  or  some  other  of  their  gods,  to  whose 
protection  they  may  have  committed  themselves. 
Those  who  had  suffered  shipwreck,  felt  themselves 
under  greater  obligations  of  gratitude ;  and,  in  addi¬ 
tion  to  the  usual  .sacrifices,  they  commonly  offered 
the  garment  in  which  they  had  been  saved,  together 
with  a  pictorial  representation  of  the  disaster.  If  the 
individual  escaped  only  with  life,  his  clothing  having 
been  totally  lost,  his  hair  was  shorn  from  the  head, 
and  consecrated  to  the  tutelar  deity. 

8.  There  is  much  that  is  beautiful  in  these  simple 
acts  of  piety  ;  and  similar  customs,  with  regard  to 
shipwrecked  mariners,  are  still  in  existence  in  the 
Catholic  countries  of  the  Mediterranean  ;  but  the  wor¬ 
ship  of  the  heathen  deities  having  been  discontinued, 
a  favourite  saint,  or  perchance  the  true  God,  is  sub¬ 
stituted  for  them.  Although  such  acts  of  piety  may 
not  avail  to  avert  impending  danger,  yet  their  natural 


THE  MARINER. 


181 


tendency  doubtless  is  to  inspire  courage  to  meet  it, 
when  it  may  arise. 

9.  The  Carthaginians,  for  several  centuries,  were 
more  extensively  engaged  in  commerce,  than  any 
other  people  of  antiquity ;  and,  as  they  carried  on 
their  lucrative  trade  with  other  nations  and  their  own 
colonies,  by  means  of  ships,  they  exceeded  all  others 
in  the  art  of  navigation.  Not  content  with  exploring 
every  nook  and  corner  of  the  Mediterranean,  they 
passed  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  as  the  promontories 
of  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar  were  then  called,  and  visit¬ 
ed  the  Atlantic  coasts  of  Europe,  as  far  north  as  the 
Scilly  Islands,  then  denominated  the  Cassorides.  It 
is  asserted  by  Pliny,  that  Hanno  even  circumnaviga¬ 
ted  Africa. 

10.  The  destruction  of  Carthage  by  the  Romans, 
in  the  year  before  Christ  146,  interfered  with  im¬ 
provements  in  the  art  of  navigation  ;  and  the  invasion 
of  the  northern  barbarians,  several  centuries  after¬ 
wards,  extinguished  nearly  all  the  knowledge  which 
had  been  previously  acquired ;  nor  was  it  again  re¬ 
vived,  and  brought  to  the  state  in  which  it  existed  in 
the  most  flourishing  era  of  antiquity,  until  about  the 
middle  of  the  fourteenth  century. 

11.  After  the  period  just  mentioned,  improvements 
in  this  art  followed  each  other  in  close  succession. 
The  chief  cause  of  this  rapid  advance  was  the  discov¬ 
ery  of  the  polarity  of  the  magnet,  and  the  consequent 
invention  of  the  mariner’s  compass.  The  power  of 
the  loadstone  to  attract  iron,  was  early  known  to  the 
Greeks  and  Chinese  ;  but  its  property  of  pointing  in 
a  particular  direction,  when  suspended,  and  left  to 
move  freely,  was  not  suspected  until  about  the  year 
1200  of  our  era. 

12.  At  first,  mariners' were  accustomed  to  place 
.the  magnetic  needle  on  a  floating  straw,  whenever 

they  needed  its  guidance  ;  but,  in  1302,  one  Flavio 

Q 


182 


THE  MARINER. 


Giaio,  an  obscure  individual  of  the  kingdom  of  Na¬ 
ples,  placed  it  on  a  permanent  pivot,  and  added  a 
circular  card.  Still,  it  was  nearly  half  a  century 
after  this,  before  navigators  properly  appreciated,  and 
implicitly  relied  on  this  new  guide.  The  compass 
did  not  reach  its  present  improved  state,  until  the 
middle  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

13.  As  soon  as  the  reputation  of  this  instrument 
had  become  well  established,  navigation  assumed  a 
bolder  character  ;  and  the  capacity  of  vessels  having 
been  enlarged  to  meet  this  adventurous  spirit,  oars 
were  laid  aside  as  inapplicable,  and  sails  alone  were 
relied  upon,  as  means  of  propulsion. 

14.  Navigation,  in  the  early  days  of  its  revival, 
was  indebted  to  the  Portuguese  for  many  valuable 
improvements.  To  them,  also,  is  the  world  under  ob¬ 
ligation  for  many  splendid  discoveries,  among  which 
was  that  of  a  passage  by  sea  to  India.  This  long- 
desired  discovery  was  made  in  1497,  by  Vasco  de 
Gama,  who  had  been  sent  out  for  the  purpose  by 
Emanuel,  king  of  Portugal., 

15.  Five  years  before  Vasco  de  Gama  had  found 
his  way  to  India,  by  the  way  of  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  Columbus  made  his  discovery  of  the  New 
World.  This  great  man  had  conceived  or  adopted 
the  idea,  that  the  form  of  our  earth  was  spherical,  in 
opposition  to  the  generally  received  opinion,  that  it 
was  an  extended  plane ;  and  learning  that  India 
stretched  to  an  unknown  distance  eastward,  he  sup¬ 
posed,  that,  by  sailing  in  an  opposite  direction,  the 
navigator  would  meet  with  its  eastern  extremity. 

16.  Pursuing  this  idea,  he  applied  successively  to 
the  governments  of  several  states  and  kingdoms  for 
patronage  to  enable  him  to  test  its  correctness;  and 
having,  at  length,  succeeded  in  obtaining  three  small 
vessels,  with  the  necessary  equipments,  from  Ferdi¬ 
nand  and  Isabella,  sovereigns  of  Arragon  and  Castile, 


THE  MARINER. 


183 


he  proceeded  on  his  proposed  voyage,  which  resulted 
in  the  discovery  of  the  American  continent. 

17.  These  two  great  discoveries  gave  another  pow¬ 
erful  impulse  to  navigation  ;  and  inventions  and  im¬ 
provements  multiplied  in  rapid  succession.  The 
learned  and  ingenious,  who  at  different  times  have 
turned  their  attention  to  the  subject  of  navigation, 
have  supplied  the  mariner  with  various  means,  by 
which  he  can  direct  his  course  on  the  deep  with  ac 
curacy  and  certainty. 

18.  The  instruments  now  employed  in  navigation, 
are  the  mariner’s  compass,  the  azimuth  compass,  the 
quadrant,  the  sextant,  the  chronometer,  the  half  min¬ 
ute-glass,  the  log,  and  the  sounding-line.  In  addition 
to  these,  the  general  navigator  needs  accurate  maps 
and  charts,  lists  of  the  latitude  and  longitude  of  every 
part  of  the  world,  the  time  of  high  water  at  every 
port,  and  a  book  of  navigation,  containing  tables,  to 
aid  him  in  performing  various  calculations  with  facil¬ 
ity  ;  and,  with  a  view  to  calculate  the  longitude  by 
observation,  he  should  be  furnished  with  the  Nautical 
Almanac,  containing  the  places  and  declinations  of 
the  fixed  stars  and  planets,  and  especially  the  dis¬ 
tances  of  the  moon  from  the  sun  and  other  heavenly 
bodies. 

19.  The  mariner’s  compass,  as  has  been  before  ob¬ 
served,  is  employed  to  indicate  the  various  points  of 
the  horizon  ;  but  the  magnetic  needle  varying  more 
or- less  from  the  exact  northern  and  southern  direction, 
the  azimuth  compass  is  used,  to  show  the  degree  of 
that  variation.  The  quadrant  and  sextant  are  em¬ 
ployed  to  ascertain  the  altitude  and  relative  position 
of  the  heavenly  bodies,  that  the  mariner  may  deter¬ 
mine  the  latitude  and  longitude  in  which  his  vessel 
may  be.  The  chronometer  is  nothing  more  than  a 
watch,  designed  to  measure  time  with  great  accuracy. 
This  instrument  is  used  to  determine  the  longitude. 


184 


THE  MARINER. 


20.  The  log  is  used  for  ascertaining  the  velocity 
of  the  ship  on  the  water.  It  consists  of  a  quadran¬ 
gular  piece  of  wood,  eight  or  nine  inches  long,  to 
which  is  attached  a  small  cord,  having  knots  in  it,  at 
proper  distances  from  each  other,  in  the  applica¬ 
tion,  the  log  is  thrown  upon  the  water,  where  it  will 
not  be  disturbed  by  the  wake  of  the  ship ;  and  the 
cord,  being  wound  upon  a  reel,  passes  from  it  as  fast 
as  the  vessel  moves  in  the  water.  The  number  of 
knots,  which  pass  off  every  half  minute,  indicates  the 
number  of  miles  which  the  ship  sails  per  hour  ;  hence, 
in  nautical  language,  knots  and  miles  are  synonymous 
terms.  The  sounding-line  is  a  small  cord,  with  sev- 
eral  pounds  of  lead  of  a  conical  figure  attached  to  it ; 
and  is  employed  in  trying  the  depth  of  the  water,  and 
the  quality  of  the  bottom. 

21.  Navigation  is  either  common  or  proper.  The 
former  is  usually  called  coasting,  as  the  vessel  is  ei¬ 
ther  on  the  same  or  neighboring  coast,  and  is  seldom 
far  from  land,  or  out  of  sounding.  The  latter  is  ap¬ 
plied  to  long  voyages  upon  the  hiain  ocean,  when 
considerable  skill  in  mathematics  and  astronomy,  to¬ 
gether  with  an  aptness  in  the  use  of  instruments  for 
celestial  observations,  are  required  in  the  captain  or 
master. 

22.  The  application  of  steam  to  the  purposes  of 
navigation,  is  one  of  the  greatest  achievements  of 
modern  science  and  art.  The  great  utility  of  this 
agent  is  particularly  conspicuous  in  our  vast  country, 
where  large  rivers  and  bays  and  mighty  lakes  are  nu¬ 
merous,  and  where  an  energetic  people  and  an  ac¬ 
tive  commerce  require  a  rapid  intercommunication. 
Steamboats  are  but  little  used  on  the  great  oceans  ; 
as  merchandise  can  there  be  more  cheaply  and  safely 
transported  in  vessels  propelled  by  sails.  Since  the 
year  1839,  two  lines  of  steam  packets  have  been  run¬ 
ning  regularly  between  this  country  and  Great  Brit- 


THE  MARINER. 


185 


ain.  They  commonly  occupy,  in  crossing  the  Atlan¬ 
tic,  between  twelve  and  fifteen  days. 

23.  The  chief  obstacle  to  the  employment  of 
steam,  in  long  voyages,  arises  from  the  difficulty  of 
generating  a  sufficient  quantity  of  this  agent,  with  the 
fuel  which  could  be  carried  without  overburdening 
the  vessel ;  but  a  remedy  for  this  inconvenience  will 
probably  be  found,  in  improvements  in  the  construc¬ 
tion  of  steam-generators. 

24.  The  power  of  connfied  steam  acting  by  its 
expansive  force,  was  discovered  by  the  celebrated 
Marquis  of  Worcester,  about  the  middle  of  the  seven¬ 
teenth  century ;  but  the  first  working  steam-engine 
was  constructed  in  1705,  by  Thomas  Newcomer,  a 
blacksmith  of  Dartmouth,  Devonshire,  England. 
About  the  year  1769,  James  Watt,  a  native  of  Glas¬ 
gow,  added  a  great  number  of  improvements  of  his 
own  invention. 

25.  Steam  navigation  was  first  suggested  in  Eng¬ 
land,  in  1736,  by  Jonathan  Hulls.  It  was  first  tried 
in  practice  in  France,  in  1782,  by  the  Marquis  de 
Jouffroy,  and  nearly  at  the  same  time  by  James  Rum- 
sey,  of  Virginia,  and  John  Fitch,  of  Philadelphia; 
but  it  was  first  rendered  completely  successful  at 
New-York,  in  1807,  by  Robert  Fulton. 

26.  The  sailors  employed  by  the  captain,  to  aid 
him  in  navigating  his  ship,  are  called  a  crew ;  and 
the  individuals  composing  it  are  responsible  to  the 
captain,  the  captain  to  the  owners,  and  the  owners  to 
the  merchants,  for  all  damages  to  goods,  arising  from 
negligence  or  bad  management. 

27.  In  England,  ample  provisions  are  made  at 
Greenwich  Hospital  or  by  pensions,  for  seamen  dis¬ 
abled  by  age  or  otherwise.  These  benefits,  however, 
are  extended  only  to  those  who  have  been  engaged  in 
the  national  service.  This  noble  and  politic  institu¬ 
tion  is  supported  partly  by  public  bounty,  and  in  part 


186 


THE  MARINER. 

by  private  donations,  and  a  tax  of  sixpence  per  month, 
deducted  from  the  wages  of  all  the  seamen  of  the 
nation.  Marine  Hospitals,  for  the  temporary  accom¬ 
modation  of  seamen,  suffering  from  disease,  have 
been  established  in  several  cities  of  the  continent  of 
Europe,  as  well  as  of  the  United  States. 

28.  Mariners  have  ever  been  a  distinct  class  of 
men,  and,  in  their  general  characters,  very  similar  in 
every  age  of  the  world.  Their  superstitious  regard 
of  the  many  signs  of  good  and  bad  luck,  is  nearly  the 
same  now,  that  it  was  two  or  three  thousand  years 
ago.  In  ancient  times,  they  had  their  lucky  and  un¬ 
lucky  days ;  and  now,  very  few  sailors  are  willing  to 
leave  port  on  Friday,  lest  the  circumstance  bring 
upon  them  some  disaster,  before  the  conclusion  of  the 
proposed  voyage. 

29.  Superstitions  of  this  nature,  however,  are  not 
confined  to  the  navigators  of  the  deep.  Even  in  this 
country,  where  the  inhabitants  enjoy  superior  intel¬ 
lectual  advantages,  and  boast  a  high  degree  of  intel¬ 
ligence,  thousands  of  persons  who  have  never  been 
on  board  of  a  ship,  are  still  under  the  influence  of 
such  heathen  notions,  notwithstanding  their  pretended 
belief  in  Christianity,  which,  in  all  cases,  when  prop¬ 
erly  understood,  would  prevent  the  forebodings  of 
evil,  or  expectations  of  good,  from  unimportant  prog¬ 
nostics. 


THE  MERCHANT. 

1.  The  word  merchant ,  in  its  most  extended  appli¬ 
cation,  signifies,  a  person  who  deals  in  merchandise. 
This  definition,  with  some  exceptions,  agrees  very 
well  with  general  usage  in  this  country  ;  although,  in 
England,  the  term  is  principally  restricted  to  those 
dealers  who  export  and  import  goods  on  their  own 
account,  either  in  their  own  or  in  chartered  vessels. 
In  the  United  States,  dealers  of  this  class  are  denom¬ 
inated  importing  and  exporting  merchants  ;  or  simply, 
importers  and  exporters. 

2.  Such  merchants,  both  here  and  in  Europe,  are 
distinguished  from  each  other  by  the  kind  of  goods  in 
which  they  traffic,  or  by  the  foreign  country  in  which 
they  have  their  chief  correspondence  ;  thus,  one  who 
deals  in  tobacco  is  called  a  tobacco-merchant ;  a 


138 


THE  MERCHANT. 


wholesale  dealer  in  wines  is  called  a  wine-merchant ; 
a  West  India,  East  India,  or  Turkey  merchant,  ex¬ 
ports  goods  to,  and  imports  goods  from,  those  respect¬ 
ive  countries. 

3.  The  business  of  merchants,  in  foreign  countries, 
is  usually  transacted  by  agents,  called  factors,  or  com¬ 
mission  merchants,  to  whom  goods  are  consigned  to 
be  sold,  and  by  whom  other  articles  of  merchandise 
are  purchased  and  returned  according  to  order. 
Sometimes  an  agent,  called  a  supercargo,  accompa¬ 
nies  the  vessel ;  or  the  captain  may  act  in  this  ca¬ 
pacity.  Goods,  however,  are  often  obtained  by  or¬ 
der,  without  the  intervention  of  an  agency  of  any 
kind. 

4.  Almost  every  sort  of  foreign  merchandise  is 

subject  to  the  imposition  of  duties  by  the  government 

of  the  country  in  which  it  is  received.  These  duties 
•/ 

are  paid  at  the  Custom-House ,  to  persons  appointed 
by  the  constituted  authorities  to  collect  them.  As 
soon  as  a  vessel  from  abroad  has  entered  the  harbor, 
it  is  visited  by  a  custom-house  officer,  called  a  Tide- 
Waiter ,  whose  business  it  is  to  see  that  no  part  of  the 
cargo  is  removed,  until  measures  have  been  taken  to 
secure  the  customs. 

5.  Goods  brought  into  the  country  by  importers, 
are  frequently  sold,  in  succession,  to  several  mer¬ 
chants  of  different  grades,  before  they  come  to  the 
hands  of  the  consumers.  Cloths  or  stuffs  of  different 
kinds,  for  instance,  may  be  first  sold  by  the  bale  to 
one  merchant,  who,  in  turn,  may  dispose  of  them  by 
the  package  to  another,  and  this  last  may  retail  them 
in  small  quantities  to  a  greater  number  of  customers. 

6.  Dealers  in  a  small  way,  in  cities  and  large 
towns,  are  frequently  denominated  shop-keepers  ;  but 
those  who  do  an  extensive  retail  business,  are  usually 
called  merchants  or  grocers,  according  as  they  deal 
in  dry  goods  or  groceries.  In  cities,  the  extensive 


THE  MERCHANT. 


189 


demand  for  goods  enables  retailers  to  confine  their 
attention  to  particular  classes  of  articles ;  such  as 
groceries,  hardware,  crockery,  a  few  kinds  of  dry 
goods,  or  some  articles  of  domestic  manufacture ; 
but  in  other  places,  where  trade  is  more  limited,  the 
merchant  is  obliged  to  keep  a  more  general  assort¬ 
ment. 

7.  The  general  retail  merchant  is  compelled  to 
transact  business  with  a  great  number  of  wholesale 
dealers,  to  whom  he  pays  cash  in  hand,  or  agrees  to 
pay  it  at  some  future  period,  say,  in  four,  six,  nine, 
or  twelve  months.  The  people  in  his  vicinity,  in 
turn,  purchase  his  goods  on  similar  conditions,  with 
this  difference,  that  they  often  substitute  for  cash  ag¬ 
ricultural  and  other  productions,  which  the  merchant, 
at  length,  turns  into  ready  money. 

8.  Barter,  or  the  exchange  of  commodities,  pre¬ 
vails  to  a  great  extent,  in  country  places,  in  almost 
every  part  of  the  United  States.  In  such  exchanges, 
the  currency  of  the  country  is  made  the  standard  of 
reference  :  for  example  ;  a  merchant  receiving  from 
a  customer  twenty  bushels  of  wheat,  estimated  at  one 
dollar  per  bushel,  gives  in  return  twenty  dollars’ 
worth  of  goods,  at  his  marked  prices  ;  or,  in  other 
words,  he  gives  credit  for  the  wheat,  and  charges  the 
goods.  On  the  same  principle,  merchants  of  the  first 
class  often  exchange  the  productions  of  their  own 
country  for  those  of  another. 

9.  Merchants,  or  store-keepers,  as  they  are  indif¬ 
ferently  called  in  some  places,  whose  location  is  dis¬ 
tant  from  the  seaboard,  visit  the  city  in  which  they 
deal  once  or  twice  a  year,  for  the  purpose  of  laying 
in  their  stock  of  goods  ;  but,  in  order  to  keep  up  their 
assortment,  they  sometimes  order  small  lots  in  the 
interim.  Retailers  more  conveniently  situated,  pur 
chase  a  smaller  amount  of  goods  at  a  time,  and  re¬ 
plenish  their  stores  more  frequently. 


190 


THE  MERCHANT. 


10.  Commerce,  on  the  principles  of  barter,  or  a 
simple  exchange  of  one  commodity  for  another,  must 
have  been  practised  in  the  early  days  of  Adam  him¬ 
self  ;  although  we  have  no  positive  record  of  the  fact  ; 
for  it  cannot  be  imagined  that  the  arts,  which  are  sta¬ 
ted  in  the  Scripture  to  have  flourished  long  before  the 
flood,  could  have  existed  without  commercial  trans¬ 
actions.  The  period  at  which  the  precious  metals 
began  to  be  employed  as  a  standard  of  value,  or  as  a 
medium  of  commercial  intercourse,  is  not  known. 
They  were  used  for  this  purpose  in  the  time  of  Abra¬ 
ham,  and  probably  many  centuries  before  his  day. 

11.  The  earliest  hint  respecting  the  existence  of 
trade  between  different  nations,  is  to  be  found  in  the 
book  of  Genesis,  where  the  transaction  regarding 
the  sale  of  Joseph  to  the  Ishmaelites,  or  Midianites,  is 
mentioned.  These  merchants,  it  appears,  were  trav¬ 
elling  in  a  caravan  to  Egypt,  then  the  most  cultivated 
and  refined  part  of  the  world.  Their  camels  were 
loaded  with  balm,  myrrh,  and  spices.  The  first  of 
these  articles  was  the  production  of  Gilead  ;  the  sec¬ 
ond,  of  Arabia ;  and  the  last  was  probably  from  In¬ 
dia  ;  as  in  that  country  the  finer  spices  are  produced. 
If  this  were  really  the  case,  commerce,  in  its  widest 
sense,  was  carried  on  much  earlier  than  is  generally 
supposed. 

12.  The  fertility  of  Egypt,  and  its  central  position, 
made  it  an  emporium  of  commerce  ;  and  there  it 
flourished,  in  an  eminent  degree,  long  before  it  was 
cultivated  in  Europe  and  in  Western  Asia.  For  sev¬ 
eral  ages,  however,  the  Egyptians,  on  account  of 
their  superstitious  prejudices  against  the  sea,  carried 
on  no  maritime  commerce. 

13.  The  Phoenicians  were  the  first  people  who 
used  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  as  a  highway  for  the 
transportation  of  merchandise.  Tyre  and  Sidon  were 
their  chief  cities ;  and  the  latter  was  called  a  great , 


THE  MERCHANT. 


191 


and  the  former  a  strong  city,  even  in  the  time  of 
Joshua,  fifteen  hundred  years  before  the  advent  of 
Christ.  These  people,  in  their  original  association  as 
a  nation,  possessed  but  a  small  territory ;  and,  being 
surrounded  by  many  powerful  nations,  they  never  at¬ 
tempted  its  enlargement  on  the  land  side. 

14.  The  settlement  of  the  Israelites  in  the  “  Prom¬ 
ised  Land,”  circumscribed  their  limits  to  a  very  small 
territory,  and  compelled  them  to  colonize  a  great 
number  of  their  inhabitants.  The  colonies  which 
they  formed  in  the  various  countries  bordering  upon 
the  Mediterranean  and  on  the  islands,  enlarged  the 
boundaries  of  civilization,  and  greatly  extended  their 
trade. 

15.  The  Phoenicians  continued  their  colonial  sys¬ 
tem  for  many  centuries  after  the  period  just  mention¬ 
ed,  and  even  extended  it  to  the  Atlantic  coasts  of  Eu¬ 
rope.  But  the  most  distinguished  of  all  their  colo¬ 
nies  was  the  one  which  founded  the  city  of  Carthage, 
on  the  northern  coast  of  Africa,  about  the  year  869 
before  Christ.  Elissa,  or,  as  she  is  otherwise  called, 
Dido,  the  reputed  leader  of  this  colony,  makes  a  con¬ 
spicuous  figure  in  one  of  the  books  of  Virgil’s  iEneid. 

16.  Carthage,  adopting  the  same  system  which  had 
so  long  been  pursued  by  the  great  cities  of  Phoenicia, 
rose,  in  a  few  centuries,  to  wealth  and  splendor.  But, 
changing,  at  length,  her  mercantile  for  a  military 
character,  she  ruled  her  dependent  colonies  with  a 
rod  of  despotism.  This  produced  a  spirit  of  resist¬ 
ance  on  the  part  of  her  distant  subjects,  who  applied 
to  Rome  for  aid  to  resist  her  tyranny.  The  conse¬ 
quence  of  this  application  was  the  three  “  Punic 
wars,”  so  renowned  in  history,  and  which  terminated 
in  the  destruction  of  Carthage,  in  the  year  146  before 
the  Christian  era.  During  the  first  Punic  war,  Car-  * 
thage  contained  seven  hundred  thousand  inhabitants ; 
but  at  its  destruction,  scarcely  five  thousand  were 
found  within  its  walls. 


192 


THE  MERCHANT. 


17.  The  period  of  the  greatest  prosperity  of  Tyre, 
may  be  placed  588  years  before  Christ,  at  which  time 
the  remarkable  prophecies  of  Ezekiel  concerning  it 
were  delivered.  Soon  after  this,  it  was  greatly  injured 
by  Nebuchadnezzar ;  and  was  finally  destroyed  by 
Alexander  the  Great,  about  the  year  332  before  Christ. 

18.  A  new  channel  was  opened  to  commerce  by 
the  monarch  just  mentioned,  he  having  founded  a  city 
in  Egypt,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Alexandria. 
His  object  seems  to  have  been,  to  render  this  city  the 
centre  of  the  commercial  world  ;  and  its  command¬ 
ing  position,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Nile,  was  well  cal¬ 
culated  to  make  it  so  ;  since  it  was  easy  of  access  from 
the  west  by  the  Mediterranean,  from  the  east  by  the 
Red  Sea,  and  from  the  central  countries  of  Asia  by 
the  Isthmus  of  Suez. 

19.  The  plans  of  Alexander  were  carried  out  with 
vigor  by  Ptolemy,  who  received  Egypt  as  his  portion 
of  the  Macedonian  empire,  after  the  death  of  his  mas¬ 
ter  ;  and,  by  his  liberality,  he  induced  great  numbers 
of  people  to  settle  in  the  new  metropolis  for  the  pur¬ 
poses  of  trade.  Far  south,  on  the  Red  Sea,  he  also 
founded  a  city,  which  he  called  Berenice,  and  which 
he  designed  as  a  dep6t  for  the  precious  commodities 
brought  into  his  kingdom  from  India.  From  this 
city,  goods  were  transported  on  camels  across  the 
country,  to  a  port  on  the  Nile  ;  and  thence  they 
were  taken  down  the  river  to  Alexandria. 

20.  Ptolemy  also  kept  large  fleets  both  on  the 
Mediterranean  and  on  the  Red  Sea,  for  the  protection 
of  commerce,  and  the  defence  of  his  dominions  ;  yet, 
the  Egyptians,  even  under  the  Ptolemieg,  never  at¬ 
tempted  a  direct  trade  to  India.  They,  as  the  Phoe¬ 
nicians  and  their  own  progenitors  had  done  for  ages, 
depended  upon  the  Arabian  merchants  for  the  pro¬ 
ductions  of  that  country. 

21.  The  Greeks,  before  their  subjugation  to  the 


THE  MERCHANT. 


193 


Roman  power,  had  paid  much  attention  to  nautical 
affairs ;  but  this  had  been  chiefly  for  warlike  domin- 
•ion,  rather  than  for  commercial  purposes.  The  city 
of  Corinth,  however,  had  become  wealthy  by  the  at¬ 
tention  of  its  inhabitants  to  manufactures  and  trade ; 
but  it  was  destroyed  by  the  same  barbarian  people 
who,  about  this  time,  annihilated  Carthage.  Both  of 
these  cities  were  afterwards  favored  by  Julius  Csesar  ; 
but  they  never  regained  anything  like  their  former 
importance. 

22.  Rome  having,  at  length,  obtained  the  complete 
dominion  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  the  coun¬ 
tries  bordering  upon  it,  as  well  as  that  of  many  others 
more  distant,  and  less  easy  of  access,  became  the 
great  mart  for  the  sale  of  merchandise  of  every  de¬ 
scription,  from  all  parts  of  the  known  world.  For 
the  various  commodities  brought  to  the  city,  the  Ro¬ 
mans  paid  gold  and  silver ;  as  they  had  nothing  else 
to  export  in  return.  The  money  which  they  had  ex¬ 
acted  as  tribute,  or  which  they  had  obtained  by  plun¬ 
der,  was  thus  returned  to  the  nations  from  which  it 
had  been  taken. 

23.  The  subjected  provinces  continued  to  pour 
their  choicest  productions  into  Rome,  as  long  as  she 
retained  the  control  of  the  empire  ;  and  thus  they 
contributed  to  enervate,  by  the  many  luxuries  they 
afforded,  the  power  by  which  they  had  been  subdued. 
The  eternal  city ,  as  she  is  sometimes  called,  in  the 
days  <3f  her  extensive  dominion,  contained  about  three 
millions  of  inhabitants  ;  and,  although  this  immense 
population  was  chiefly  supplied  by  importations,  the 
Romans  never  esteemed  the  character  of  a  merchant. 
They  despised  the  peaceful  pursuits  of  industry,  whilst 
they  regarded  it  honorable  to  attack  without  provo-* 
cation,  and  plunder  without  remorse,  the  weaker  na¬ 
tions  of  the  earth. 

24.  In  the  year  328  of  the  Christian  era,  Byzan- 

R 


194 


THE  MERCHANT. 


tium  was  made  the  seat  of  government  of  the  Roman 
empire  by  Constantine,  who,  with  a  view  of  perpetu¬ 
ating  his  own  name,  called  his  new  capital  Constanti¬ 
nople.  However  necessary  this  removal  may  have 
been,  to  keep  in  subjugation  the  eastern  provinces,  it 
was  fatal  to  the  security  of  the  western  division.  The 
rivalry  between  the  two  cities  produced  frequent  con¬ 
tests  for  dominion  ;  and  these,  together  with  the  gen¬ 
eral  corruption  and  effeminacy  of  the  people  them¬ 
selves,  rendered  it  impossible  to  resist  the  repeated 
and  fierce  invasions  of  the  barbarous  people  from  the 
northern  parts  of  Europe. 

25.  These  invasions  commenced  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  fourth  century  ;  and,  in  less  than  two  hundred 
years,  a  great  portion  of  the  inhabitants  was  destroy¬ 
ed,  and  the  whole  Western  empire  was  completely 
subverted.  The  conquerors  were  too  barbarous  to 
encourage  or  protect  commerce  ;  and,  like  the  arts 
of  peace  and  civilization  generally,  it  sunk,  with  few 
exceptions,  amid  the  general  ruin. 

26.  The  empire  of  Constantinople,  or,  as  it  is  usu¬ 

ally  called,  the  Eastern  empire,  continued  in  exist¬ 
ence  several  centuries  after  the  Western  empire  had 
been  overrun  ;  and  commerce  continued  to  flow,  for 
a  considerable  time,  through  some  of  its  former  chan¬ 
nels  to  the  capital.  At  length,  the  Indian  trade, 
which  had  so  long  been  carried  on  chiefly  through 
Egypt  by  the  Red  Sea,  was  changed  to  a  more  north¬ 
ern  route,  through  Persia.  " 

27.  Soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  pretend¬ 
ed  mission  of  Mohammed,  or  Mahomet,  in  609  of  the 
Christian  era,  the  power  of  the  Arabians,  since  called 
Saracens,  began  to  rise.  The  followers  of  the  Proph¬ 
et,  impelled  by  religious  zeal,  and  allured  by  plunder, 
in  less  than  150  years  extended  their  dominion  almost 
to  the  borders  of  China  on  the  one  side,  and  to  the 
Mediterranean  and  Atlantic  on  the  other.  The  trade 


THE  MERCHANT. 


195 


of  the  East,  of  course,  fell  into  their  hands  ;  and  they 
continued  to  enjoy  it,  until  they,  in  turn,  were  sub¬ 
dued  by  the  Turks. 

28.  So  great  was  the  prejudice  of  the  Christians 
against  the  followers  of  Mohammed,  that,  for  a  long 
time,  it  was  considered  heretical  for  the  former  to 
trade  with  the  latter  ;  but  the  Saracens  having  a  vast 
extent  of  territory,  and  having  control  of  the  Mediter¬ 
ranean  and  Red  Seas,  as  well  as  of  the  Persian  Gulf, 
carried  on  an  extensive  trade  among  themselves. 

29.  The  first  European  power  which  rose  to  com¬ 
mercial  eminence,  after  the  destruction  of  the  West¬ 
ern  empire,  was  the  republic  of  Venice.  This  im¬ 
portant  city  owed  its  origin  to  some  fugitives,  who 
fled  for  their  lives  to  a  number  of  small  islands  in  the 
Adriatic  Sea,  during  the  invasion  of  Italy  by  the  Huns, 
under  Attila,  in  the  year  452. 

30.  The  houses  first  built  by  the  refugees,  were 
constructed  of  mud  and  seagrass  ;  and,  so  insignifi¬ 
cant  were  they  in  their  appearance,  that  a  writer  of 
that  period  compares  them  to  a  collection  of  the  nests 
of  water-fowls.  The  number  of  these  islands,  on 
which  so  splendid  a  city  was  afterwards  built,  was, 
according  to  some,  seventy-two  ;  but,  according  to 
others,  ninety,  or  even  one  hundred  and  fifty.  For 
a  considerable  time,  the  distinction  of  rich  and  poor 
was  not  known ;  for  all  lived  upon  the  same  fish-diet, 
and  in  houses  of  similar  form  and  materials. 

31.  In  less  than  a  century,  the  inhabitants  of  these 
islands  had  established  a  regular  government ;  and, 
in  the  year  732,  we  find  them  venturing  beyond  the 
Adriatic  into  the  Mediterranean,  even  as  far  as  Con¬ 
stantinople,  trading  in  silks,  purple  draperies,  and  In¬ 
dian  commodities.  In  813,  the  French  commenced 
trading  to  Alexandria,  and,  in  a  few  years,  the  Vene¬ 
tians  followed  their  example,  in  despite  of  the  eccle¬ 
siastical  prohibitions  against  intercourse  with  the  fol- 


196 


THE  MERCHANT. 


lowers  of  Mohammed.  In  the  tenth  century,  Amalfi, 
Pisa,  Genoa,  and  Florence,  began  to  rival  Venice  in 
trade. 

32.  The  crusades,  which,  for  two  centuries  from 
the  year  1095,  engaged  so  much  of  the  attention  of 
the  Christian  nations  of  Europe,  greatly  promoted  the 
interests  of  the  commercial  cities  of  Italy  ;  as  the  ar¬ 
mies  in  these  expeditions  were  dependent  on  them 
for  provisions,  and  for  the  means  of  crossing  the  sea, 
which  lay  between  them  and  the  Holy  Land.  They 
also  gave  a  new  and  powerful  impulse  to  commerce 
in  general,  by  giving  the  people,  in  the  unrefined  parts 
of  Europe,  a  knowledge  of  the  elegances  and  luxuries 
of  the  East. 

33.  In  the  thirteenth  century,  commerce  and  man 
ufactures  began  to  command  considerable  attention 
in  Germany  and  the  adjacent  states  ;  but  as  the  seas 
and  rivers  were  infested  with  pirates,  and  the  roads 
with  banditti,  it  became  necessary  for  those  engaged 
in  commerce  to  adopt  measures  to  protect  their  com¬ 
modities,  while  on  the  way  from  one  place  to  another. 
The  citizens  of  Hamburg  and  Lubeck  first  united  for 
this  purpose ;  and  the  advantages  of  such  a  union  of 
strength  becoming  apparent,  many  other  cities  soon 
entered  into  the  confederation. 

34.  This  association  was  denominated  the  Hanse , 
or  league,  and  the  cities  thus  united  were  called  Hanse 
Towns.  Most  of  the  commercial  towns  in  the  north- 
ern  parts  of  the  continent  of  Europe,  at  length,  be¬ 
came  parties  to  the  Hanseatic  league.  The  number 
of  these  cities  varied,  at  different  periods  ;  but  in  the 
days  of  the  greatest  prosperity  of  the  association,  it 
amounted  to  eighty-five. 

35.  Representatives  from  the  different  cities  met 
triennially  at  Lubeck,  where  their  common  treasury 
and  archives  were  kept.  By  this  assembly,  which  was 
called  a  diet,  rules  for  the  regulation  of  commercial 


THE  MERCHANT. 


197 


intercourse  were  made,  and  other  business  transact¬ 
ed,  which  related  to  the  general  welfare  of  the  con¬ 
federation. 

36.  In  the  fourteenth  century,  the  league,  in  all 
parts  of  Europe,  attained  a  high  degree  of  political 
importance,  and  developed  that  commercial  policy 
which  it  had  originated,  and  which  has  since  been 
adopted  by  all  civilized  nations.  The  objects  of  the 
allied  cities  were  now  declared  to  be — to  protect  their 
commerce  against  pillage,  to  guard  and  extend  their 
foreign  trade,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  to  monopolize 
it,  to  maintain  and  extend  the  privileges  obtained 
from  the  princes  of  different  nations,  and  to  make 
rules  or  laws  for  the  regulation  of  trade,  as  well  as  to 
establish  the  necessary  tribunals  for  their  due  execu¬ 
tion.  The  decisions  of  their  courts  were  respected 
by  the  civil  authorities  of  the  countries  to  which  their 
trade  extended. 

37.  The  treasury  was  chiefly  supplied  by  duties 
on  merchandise  ;  and  the  great  wealth  thus  acquired 
enabled  the  allied  cities  to  obtain  commercial  privile¬ 
ges  from  needy  princes,  for  pecuniary  accommoda¬ 
tions.  The  league,  in  defending  its  commerce,  even 
carried  on  wars  against  kingdoms  ;  and,  at  length,  by 
its  wealth  and  naval  power,  became  mistress  of  the 
Northern  seas,  and  rendered  the  different  cities  of  the 
confederation  in  a  great  measure  independent  of  the 
sovereigns  of  the  countries  in  which  they  were  sit¬ 
uated. 

38.  The  conduct  of  the  Hanse  Towns,  at  length, 
excited  the  jealousies  of  those  sovereigns  who  had, 
for  a  long  time,  favored  their  union  ;  and  the  princes 
of  Europe  generally,  becoming  acquainted  with  the 
value  of  commerce,  both  as  means  of  enriching  their 
people,  and  of  filling  their  own  coffers,  combined 
against  the  association.  In  1518,  the  governments 
of  several  states  commanded  all  their  cities  to  with- 

R  2 


198 


THE  MERCHANT. 


draw  from  the  league,  which  soon  after  voluntarily 
excluded  some  others.  After  this  the  Hanse  gradu¬ 
ally  sunk  in  importance,  and  finally  ceased  to  exist 
in  1630. 

39.  The  trade  to  the  East  Indies  continued  to  be 
carried  on  through  Persia  and  Egypt,  subject  to  the 
extortions  of  the  Saracens,  and  the  still  severer  exac¬ 
tions  of  the  merchants  of  the  Italian  cities,  until  the 
route  to  those  countries,  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
was  discovered. 

40.  The  use  of  this  new  pathway  of  commerce, 
combined  with  the  discovery  of  America,  caused  an 
entire  change  in  both  the  political  and  commercial 
state  of  Europe.  A  strong  desire  of  visiting  the  re¬ 
mote  parts  of  the  world,  thus  laid  open  to  the  people 
of  Europe,  immediately  arose,  not  only  among  the 
Portuguese  and  Spaniards,  but  also  among  other  na¬ 
tions.  Colonies  were  soon  planted  in  the  East  and  in 
the  West ;  and  the  whole  world  may  be  said  to  have 
been  inspired  with  new  energy. 

41.  The  Portuguese,  being  considerably  in  advance 
of  the  other  Atlantic  nations  in  the  art  of  navigation, 
soon  gained  the  entire  control  of  the  East  India  trade, 
and  were  thus  raised  to  great  eminence,  prosperity, 
and  power.  Their  dominions  became  extensive  in 
Africa  and  Asia,  and  their  navy  superior  to  any  that 
had  been  seen  for  several  ages  before. 

42.  In  1580,  or  eighty-three  years  after  Yasco  de 
Gama  found  his  way,  by  the  Cape,  to  Calicut,  Portu¬ 
gal  was  subdued  by  Philip  II.,  king  of  Spain.  The 
Spaniards,  however,  were  not  enriched  by  the  con¬ 
quest  ;  since  their  commercial  energy  and  enterprise 
had  been  destroyed,  by  the  vast  quantities  of  the  pre¬ 
cious  metals  obtained  from  their  American  posses¬ 
sions. 

43.  In  1579,  the  people  of  Holland,  with  those  of 
six  neighboring  provinces,  being  then  subject  to  Spain, 


THE  MERCHANT. 


199 


united,  under  the  Prince  of  Orange,  for  the  purpose 
of  regaining  their  liberties.  This  produced  a  san¬ 
guinary  war,  which  continued  for  thirty  years,  during 
which  time  the  Dutch  wrested  from  the  Spaniards 
most  of  their  Portuguese  possessions  in  India,  and,  in 
addition  to  this,  formed  many  other  settlements  in  va¬ 
rious  places  from  the  River  Tigris  even  to  Japan. 
Batavia,  on  the  Island  of  Java,  was  made  the  grand 
emporium  of  trade,  and  the  seat  of  the  government 
of  their  East  India  possessions. 

44.  The  prosperity  of  the  United  Provinces  in¬ 
creased  with  great  rapidity ;  and,  as  they  were  but 
little  interfered  with  by  other  nations  in  their  Eastern 
dominions,  they  enjoyed,  for  half  a  century  or  more, 
almost  the  whole  of  the  trade  of  the  East.  Besides 
this,  they  shared  largely  with  the  rest  of  the  world  in 
almost  every  other  branch  of  trade.  After  the  year 
1660,  other  nations,  by  great  exertions,  succeeded  in 
obtaining  considerable  shares  of  the  commerce  of  the 
East ;  yet  the  Dutch  still  retain  valuable  possessions 
there. 

45.  The  chief  articles  exported  from  Britain,  in 
ancient  times,  were  tin,  lead,  copper,  iron,  wool,  and 
cattle ;  for  which  they  received  in  return,  gold,  silver, 
and  manufactured  articles.  But  the  commerce  of 
the  British  Islands  was  inconsiderable,  when  com¬ 
pared  with  that  of  many  kingdoms  on  the  Continent, 
until  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

46.  When  Elizabeth  ascended  the  throne  of  Eng¬ 
land,  in  1558,  the  circumstances  of  the  nation  re¬ 
quired  an  extensive  navy  for  its  protection  ;  and  the 
great  attention  which  the  queen  paid  to  this  means  of 
defence,  gave  animation  to  all  maritime  concerns. 
Under  her  patronage,  several  companies  for  trading 
in  foreign  countries  were  formed,  which,  at  that  time, 
and  for  a  long  period  afterwards,  were  very  beneficial 
to  trade  in  general.  In  her  reign,  also,  the  colonial 


200 


THE  MERCHANT. 


system  of  England  had  its  origin,  which  contributed 
eventually,  more  than  any  thing  else,  to  the  commer¬ 
cial  prosperity  of  that  nation.  Since  the  reign  of 
this  wise  and  judicious  princess,  the  commerce  and 
manufactures  of  Great  Britain  have  been,  with  a  few 
interruptions,  steadily  advancing  ;  and,  in  these  two 
particulars,  she  surpasses  every  other  nation. 

47.  The  United  States  possess  superior  local  ad¬ 
vantages  for  trade,  and  embrace  a  population  unsur¬ 
passed  for  enterprise  and  energy.  Since  the  Revo¬ 
lution,  the  resources  of  our  country  have  been  rapid¬ 
ly  developing.  Our  exports  and  imports  are  already 
next  in  amount  to  those  of  Great  Britain  and  France  ; 
and  the  extensive  improvements  which  have  been 
made  by  the  different  states,  to  facilitate  internal  in¬ 
tercourse,  are  increasing  with  great  rapidity. 

48.  The  banking  system  is  very  intimately  inter¬ 
woven  with  commercial  affairs  in  general.  Banks 
are  of  three  kinds,  viz.,  of  discount ,  of  deposit,  and 
of  circulation.  The  term  bank,  in  its  original  appli¬ 
cation,  signified  a  place  of  common  deposit  for  money, 
and  where,  in  commercial  transactions,  individuals 
could  have  the  amount,  or  any  part  of  the  amount,  of 
their  deposits  transferred  to  each  other’s  accounts. 

49.  The  term  bank  is  derived  from  the  Italian  word 
banco,  which  signified  a  kind  of  bench,  or  table,  on 
which  the  Jews  were  accustomed  to  place  the  money 
which  they  proposed  to  lend  in  the  markets  of  the  prin¬ 
cipal  towns.  The  first  bank  was  established  in  Ven¬ 
ice,  about  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century  ;  the  Bank 
of  Genoa,  in  1345  ;  the  Bank  of  Amsterdam,  in  1607  ; 
the  Bank  of  Hamburg,  in  1619  ;  the  Bank  of  Rotter¬ 
dam,  in  1635.  These  were  all  banks  of  mere  deposit 
and  transfer. 

50.  Lending-houses  may  be  traced  to  a  very  an¬ 
cient  origin.  They  were,  at  first,  supported  by  hu¬ 
mane  persons,  with  a  view  of  lending  money  to  the 


THE  MERCHANT. 


201 


poor,  on  pledges,  without  interest.  Augustus  Caesar 
appropriated  a  part  of  the  confiscated  effects  of  crim¬ 
inals  to  this  purpose ;  and  Tiberias,  also,  advanced  a 
large  capital,  to  be  lent  for  three  years,  without  in¬ 
terest,  to  those  who  could  give  security  in  lands  equal 
to  twice  the  value  of  the  sum  borrowed. 

51.  In  the  early  ages  of  Christianity,  free  gifts 
were  collected  and  preserved  by  ecclesiastics,  partly 
to  defray  the  expenses  of  divine  service,  and  partly 
to  relieve  the  poor  of  the  church ;  and  the  funds  thus 
provided  came,  at  length,  to  be  called  monies  pietatis 
— mountains  of  piety.  This  appellation  was  after¬ 
wards  applied  to  the  loaning-liouses ,  established  in 
modern  Italy  in  imitation  of  those  of  antiquity. 

52.  In  course  of  time,  the  loaning-houses  were 
permitted  by  the  Roman  pontiff  to  charge  a  moderate 
interest  on  a  part  of  their  capital,  and,  finally,  upon 
the  whole  of  it ;  still,  they  retained,  for  a  long  period, 
the  original  denomination  of  monies  pietatis.  The 
receiving  of  interest  on  loans  was  declared  lawful  by 
the  Pope,  about  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century. 
Soon  after  this  period,  all  the  cities  of  Italy  hastened 
to  establish  these  institutions  ;  cq^i  their  example  was, 
at  length,  followed  in  other  parts  of  Europe. 

53.  But  long  before  the  Pope  had  granted  this 
privilege,  individuals  were  in  the  habit  of  loaning 
money  at  an  exorbitant  usury.  These  were  princi¬ 
pally  Jews  and  merchants  from  Lombardy;  hence, 
all  persons  in  those  countries,  who  dealt  in  money, 
came  to  be  called  Lombard  merchants.  The  prohibi¬ 
tions  of  the  Church  against  receiving  interest  were 
eluded,  when  necessary,  by  causing  it  to  be  paid  in 
advance,  by  way  of  present  or  premium. 

54.  In  the  twelfth  century,  many  of  the  dealers  in 
money  were  expelled  from  England,  France,  and  the 
Netherlands,  for  usurious  practices;  and,  in  order  to 
regain  possession  of  their  effects,  which  they  had,  in 


202 


THE  MERCHANT. 


their  haste,  left  in  the  hands  of  confidential  friends, 
they  adopted  the  method  of  writing  concise  orders  or 
drafts.  Hence  originated  bills  of  exchange,  so  con¬ 
venient  in  commercial  transactions. 

55.  The  Bank  of  England  was  established  in  the 

year  1694.  Hitherto,  the  banks  of  deposit,  and  loan- 
ing-houses,  were  entirely  distinct ;  but,  in  this  insti¬ 
tution,  these  two  branches  of  pecuniary  operations 
were  united.  It  seems,  also,  that  this  was  the  first 
bank  that  issued  notes,  to  serve  as  a  medium  of  cir¬ 
culation,  and  to  supply,  in  part,  the  place  of  gold  and 
silver.  «•  - 

56.  In  the  United  States,  banking  institutions  are 
very  numerous.  They  are  all  established  by  com¬ 
panies,  incorporated  by  the  legislatures  of  the  differ¬ 
ent  states,  or  by  the  congress  of  the  United  States. 
The  act  which  grants  the  privileges  of  banking,  also 
fixes  the  amount  of  the  capital  stock,  and  divides  it 
into  equal  shares.  The  holders  of  the  stock  choose 
the  officers  to  transact  the  business  of  the  corpora¬ 
tion. 

57.  Our  banks  receive  deposits  from  individual  cus¬ 
tomers,  loan  money^pn  notes  of  hand,  acceptances, 
and  drafts,  issue  notes  of  circulation,  and  purchase 
and  sell  bills  of  exchange.  They  are  usually  author¬ 
ized,  by  their  charters,  to  loan  three  times  the  amount, 
and  to  issue  bank-notes  to  twice  the  amount,  of  the 
capital  stock  paid  in.  Few  banking  companies,  how¬ 
ever,  exercise  these  privileges  to  the  full  extent,  lest 
the  bank  be  embarrassed  by  too  great  a  demand  for 
specie.  As  soon  as  a  bank  ceases  to  pay  specie  for 
its  notes,  it  is  said  to  be  broken,  and  its  operations 
must  cease. 

58.  The  Bank  of  North  America  was  the  first  in¬ 
stitution  of  this  kind,  established  in  the  United  States. 
It  was  incorporated  by  Congress,  in  1781,  at  the  sug¬ 
gestion  of  Robert  Morris.  In  1791,  after  the  union 


THE  MERCHANT. 


203 


of  the  states  had  been  effected  under  the  present  con¬ 
stitution,  the  first  Bank  of  the  United  States  was  in¬ 
corporated,  with  a  capital  of  ten  millions  of  dollars. 
Most  of  the  states  soon  followed  this  example  ;  and, 
before  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  the  whole 
banking  capital  amounted  to  near  thirty  millions  of 
dollars. 

59.  The  charter  of  the  first  Bank  of  the  United 
States  expired,  by  its  own  limitation,  in  1811  ;  and  a 
new  one,  with  a  capital  of  thirty-five  millions  of  dol¬ 
lars,  was  established  in  1816,  which  also  closed  its 
concerns,  as  a  national  bank,  in  1836,  President  Jack- 
son  having  vetoed  the  bill  for  its  recharter.  In  that 
year  the  number  of  banks  was  567,  and  the  bank  cap¬ 
ital  $251,875,292.  In  the  year  1840,  the  number 
of  banks  had  increased  to  722,  and  their  capital  to 
$358,442,692. 


THE  AUCTIONEER. 


1.  The  Auctioneer  is  one  who  disposes  of  property 

at  public  sale  to  the  highest  bidder.  The  sale  of 
property  in  this  manner  is  regulated,  in  some  par- 
ticulars,  by  legislative  enactments,  which  have  for 
their  object  the  prevention  of  fraud,  or  the  imposi¬ 
tion  of  duties.  c 

2.  In  Pennsylvania,  the  present  law  provides  for 
three  classes  of  auctioneers,  each  of  which  is  required 
to  pay  to  the  state  a  specified  sum  for  a  license.  The 
first  class  pays  two  thousand  dollars  per  annum  ;  the 
second,  one  thousand  ;  and  the  third,  two  hundred  ; 
and,  besides  this,  one  and  a  half  per  cent,  on  the 
amount  of  all  their  sales  is  required  to  be  paid  into 
the  treasury  of  the  state.  To  each  class  are  granted 
privileges  corresponding  to  the  cost  of  the  license. 


THE  AUCTIONEER. 


205 


3.  In  the  state  of  New-York,  the  number  of  auc¬ 
tioneers  for  the  cities,  villages,  and  counties,  is  limit- 
ed  by  law  ;  and  all  persons  who  would  follow  the 
business  are  compelled  to  give  security  for  the  faith¬ 
ful  execution  of  its  duties.  The  state  requires  a  duty 
of  one  per  cent,  on  all  merchandise  imported  from 
beyond  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  one  and  a  half  per 
cent,  on  such  as  may  be  imported  from  other  foreign 
countries,  and  two  per  cent,  on  wines  and  ardent 
spirits,  whether  foreign  or  domestic.  The  laws  and 
usages  regarding  sales  at  auction,  in  most  of  the  Uni¬ 
ted  States,  are  similar,  in  their  general  principles,  to 
those  of  Pennsylvania  or  New-York. 

4.  A  great  amount  of  merchandise,  both  foreign 
and  domestic,  in  our  principal  cities,  is  sold  by  auc¬ 
tion  ;  and  the  price  which  staple  commodities  there 
command  is  generally  considered  a  tolerable  criterion 
of  their  value  at  the  time.  It  very  frequently  hap¬ 
pens,  however,  that  articles  which  are  not  in  steady 
demand,  are  sold  at  a  great  sacrifice.  Auctioneers 
seldom  import  goods,  nor  is  it  usual  for  them  to  own 
the  property  which  they  sell. 

5.  In  all  cases,  before  an  auction  is  held,  due  no¬ 
tice  is  given  to  the  public.  This  is  usually  done  by 
the  circulation  of  a  printed  hand-bill,  by  a  crier,  or 
by  an  advertisement  in  a  newspaper  ;  or  all  three  of 
these  modes  may  be  employed  to  give  publicity  to 
one  and  the  same  sale. 

6.  Persons  desirous  of  becoming  purchasers  at  the 
proposed  auction,  assemble  at  the  time  appointed  ; 
and,  after  the  auctioneer  has  stated  the  terms  of  sale, 
as  regards  the  payment  of  whatever  may  be  purcha¬ 
sed,  he  offers  the  property  to  the  persons  present,  who 
make  their  respective  bids,  he,  in  the  mean  time,  cry¬ 
ing  the  sum  proposed.  When  no  further  advance  is 
expected,  he  knocks  down  the  article  to  the  last  bidder. 

7.  A  mode  of  sale  was  formerly,  and,  in  some 

S 


206 


THE  AUCTIONEER. 


cases  is  still,  practised,  in  various  parts  of  Europe, 
called  sale  by  inch  of  candle.  The  things  for  sale  are 
offered  in  the  ordinary  manner,  as  has  been  described 
in  the  preceding  paragraph,  and,  at  the  same  time,  a 
wax-candle,  an  inch  in  length,  is  lighted.  The  pur¬ 
chasers  bid  upon  each  other,  until  the  candle  has 
been  all  consumed  ;  and  the  last  bidder,  when  the 
light  goes  out,  is  entitled  to  the  articles  or  goods  in 
question. 

8.  Auctioneers,  in  large  cities,  hold  their  sales  at 
regular  periods ;  sometimes,  every  day  or  evening. 
On  extensive  sales  of  merchandise,  credits  of  two, 
three,  four,  six,  or  nine  months,  are  commonly  given. 
In  such  cases,  the  auctioneer  often  gives  his  own  ob¬ 
ligations  for  the  goods,  and  receives  in  return  those 
of  the  purchasers. 

9.  This  mode  of  sale  is  employed  in  the  disposi¬ 
tion  of  property  taken  by  process  of  law  for  the 
payment  of  debts,  in  every  part  of  the  world,  where 
the  influence  of  European  law  has  extended.  It  is 
used  in  preference  to  any  other ;  because  it  is  the 
most  ready  way  of  sale,  and  is  moreover  the  most 
likely  method  to  secure  to  the  debtor  something  like 
the  value  of  his  property.  ( 

10.  Executors  and  administrators  often  employ 
this  convenient  method  of  sale,  in  settling  the  estates 
of  deceased  persons  ;  and  they,  as  well  as  sheriffs 
and  constables,  ex-officio,  or  by  virtue  of  their  office, 
have  a  lawful  right  to  act  in  the  capacity  of  auction¬ 
eer,  in  performing  their  respective  duties  ;  and  no  tax 
is  required  by  the  state,  in  such  cases. 

11.  The  sale  by  auction  was  in  use  among  the  Ro¬ 
mans,  even  in  the  early  days  of  their  city.  It  was 
first  employed  in  the  disposition  of  spoils  taken  in 
war  ;  hence  a  spear  was  adopted  as  a  signal  of  a 
public  sale ;  and  this  continued  to  be  the  auctioneer’s 
emblem,  even  after  this  mode  of  sale  was  extended 


THE  AUCTIONEER. 


207 


to  property  in  general.  The  red  flag  and  spear,  or 
rather  the  handle  of  that  instrument,  both  emblemat¬ 
ical  of  blood  and  war,  are  still  employed  for  the  same 
purpose. 

12.  Several  attempts  have  been  made  in  the  Uni¬ 
ted  States,  to  suppress  sales  of  merchandise  by  auc¬ 
tion  ;  but  these  endeavors  were  unsuccessful,  since 
experience  had  proved  this  mode  of  effecting  ex¬ 
changes  to  be  prompt  and  convenient ;  and  since 
some  of  the  states  had  derived  considerable  revenue 
from  the  duties.  So  long  as  conflicting  interests  re¬ 
main  as  they  are,  this  mode  of  sale  will  be  likely  to 
continue.  , 


*- 


V 


THE  CLERGYMAN. 

1.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  our  Saviour,  during  his 
visit  of  mercy  to  the  world,  chose  from  among  his 
disciples  twelve  men,  to  be  his  especial  agents  in  es¬ 
tablishing  his  church.  These  men,  in  our  translation 
of  the  New  Testament,  are  denominated  apostles. 
The  grand  commission  which  they  received  was,  “Go 
ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  my  gospel  to  every 
creature.” 

2.  The  apostles  commenced  their  noble  enterprise 
on  that  memorable  day  of  Pentecost,  which  next  oc¬ 
curred  after  the  ascension  of  their  Master ;  and,  in 
the  city  of  his  inveterate  enemies,  soon  succeeded  in 
establishing  a  church  of  several  thousand  members. 
The  doctrines  of  Christianity  soon  spread  to  other 
cities  and  countries ;  and,  before  the  close  of  that 


THE  CLERGYMAN. 


209 


century,  they  were  known  and  embraced,  more  or 
less,  in  every  province  of  the  Roman  empire. 

3.  The  apostles,  however,  were  not  the  only  agents 
engaged  in  spreading  and  maintaining  the  doctrines 
of  Christianity ;  for,  in  every  church,  persons  were 
found  capable  of  taking  the  supervision  of  the  rest, 
and  of  exercising  the  office  of  the  ministry.  These 
were  ordained  either  by  the  apostles  themselves,  or 
by  persons  authorized  by  them  to  perform  the  cere¬ 
mony. 

4.  After  the  Church  had  passed  through  a  great 
variety  of  persecutions,  during  a  period  of  nearly 
three  centuries,  the  Christians  became  superior  in 
numbers  to  the  pagans  in  the  Roman  empire.  In 
the  early  part  of  the  fourth  century,  a  free  toleration 
in  religious  matters  was  declared  by  Constantine  the 
Great,  who  took  the  Church  under  his  especial  pro¬ 
tection. 

5.  The  Christians  of  the  first  and  second  centuries 
usually  worshipped  God  in  private  houses,  or  in  the 
open  air  in  retired  places,  chiefly  on  account  of  the 
persecutions  to  which  they  were  often  subjected.  It 
was  not  until  the  third  century,  that  they  ventured  to 
give  greater  publicity  to  their  service,  by  building 
churches  for  general  accommodation.  When  the 
Cross  had  obtained  the  ascendency,  in^the  subsequent 
age,  many  of  the  heathen  temples  were  appropriated 
to  Christian  purposes ;  and  many  splendid  churches 
were  erected,  especially  by  Constantine  and  his  suc¬ 
cessors. 

6.  In  the  middle  ages,  a  great  number  of  edifices 
were  erected  for  the  performance  of  divine  worship, 
which,  in  loftiness  and  grandeur,  had  never  been  sur¬ 
passed  ;  and  the  greater  part  of  these  remain  to  the 
present  day.  Some  of  the  most  famous  churches  are, 
St.  Peter’s,  at  Rome  ;  Notre  Dame,  at  Paris ;  St. 
Stephen’s,  at  Vienna ;  the  church  of  Isaac,  at  St.  Pe- 

S  2 


210 


THE  CLERGYMAN. 


tersburg ;  the  minsters  at  Strasburg  and  Cologne  ; 
and  St.  Paul’s,  in  London. 

7.  Up  to  the  time  of  the  great  change  in  favor  of 
Christianity,  just  mentioned,  the  whole  Church  had 
often  acted  together  in  matters  of  common  interest, 
through  the  medium  of  general  councils ;  and  this 
practice  continued  for  several  centuries  afterwards. 
But  the  variance  and  dissensions  between  the  Pope  of 
Rome,  and  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  combined 
with  some  other  causes,  produced,  about  the  close  of 
the  ninth  century,  a  total  separation  of  the  two  great 
divisions  of  the  Church. 

8.  At  the  time  of  this  schism,  the  whole  Christian 
world  had  become  subject  to  these  two  prelates.  The 
part  of  the  Church  ruled  by  the  Patriarch,  was  called 
the  Eastern ,  or  Greek  Church ;  and  that  part  which 
yielded  obedience  to  the  Pope,  was  denominated  the 
Western,  or  Latin  Church.  Many  attempts  have  been 
since  made  to  reunite  these  two  branches  of  the 
Church  ;  but  these  endeavors  have  hitherto  proved 
unsuccessful. 

9.  The  conquest  of  the  Roman  empire,  so  often 
mentioned  in  the  preceding  pages,  was  particularly 
injurious  to  the  Church,  especially  that  part  of  it  sub¬ 
ject  to  the  Roman  pontiff ;  since  it  nearly  extinguish¬ 
ed  the  arts  and  sciences,  and  since  the  barbarous  con¬ 
querors  were  received  into  the  Church,  before  they 
had  attained  the  proper  moral  qualifications.  From 
these  causes,  chiefly,  arose  the  conduct  of  the  Church, 
in  the  middle  ages,  which  has  been  so  much  censured 
by  all  enlightened  men,  and  which  has  been  often  un¬ 
justly  attributed  to  Christianity  herself,  rather  than  to 
the  ignorance  and  barbarism  of  the  times. 

10.  In  the  year  1517,  while  Leo  X.  occupied  the 
papal  chair,  Martin  Luther,  of  Saxony,  commenced 
his  well-known  opposition  to  many  practices  and  doc¬ 
trines  in  the  Church,  which  he  conceived  to  be  de- 


THE  CLERGYMAN. 


211 


partures  from  the  spirit  of  primitive  Christianity.  He 
was  soon  joined  in  his  opposition  by  Philip  Melanc- 
thon,  Ulric  Zuingle,  and  finally  by  John  Calvin,  as 
well  as  by  many  other  distinguished  divines  of  that 
century,  in  various  parts  of  Europe. 

11.  These  men,  with  their  followers  and  abettors, 
for  reasons  too  obvious  to  need  explanation,  received 
or  assumed  the  appellation  of  Reformers  ;  and,  on  ac¬ 
count  of  a  solemn  protest  which  they  entered  against 
a  certain  decree  which  had  been  issued  against  them, 
they  also  became  distinguished  by  the  name  of  ProU 
estants.  The  latter  term  is  now  applied  to  all  sects, 
of  whatever  denomination,  in  the  western  division  of 
the  Church,  that  do  not  acknowledge  the  authority  of 
the  Roman  See. 

12.  The  Protestant  division  of  the  Church  is  called 
by  the  Roman  Catholics,  the  Western  schism,  to  dis¬ 
tinguish  it  from  that  of  the  Greek  Church,  which  is 
termed  the  Eastern  schism.  The  Protestants  are  di¬ 
vided  into  a  great  number  of  sects,  or  parties  ;  and. 
although  they  differ  from  each  other  in  many  of  their 
religious  sentiments,  they  agree  in  their  steady  oppo¬ 
sition  to  the  Roman  Catholics. 

13.  The  ostensible  object  of  the  founders  of  all  the 
churches  differing  from  the  Romish  communion,  has 
been,  to  bring  back  Christianity  to  the  state  in  which 
it  existed  on  its  first  establishment ;  and  to  prove  their 
positions  in  doctrine  and  church  government,  they  ap¬ 
peal  to  the  Scriptures,  and  sometimes  to  the  Christian 
writers  of  the  first  four  or  five  centuries.  The  advo¬ 
cates  of  the  “  mother  church,”  on  the  contrary,  con¬ 
tend  that,  being  infallible,  she  can  never  have  depart¬ 
ed  from  primitive  principles,  on  any  point  essential  to 
salvation. 

14.  As  to  the  government  of  the  several  churches, 
it  is,  in  most  cases,  either  Episcopal  or  Presbyterian. 
In  the  former  case,  three  orders  of  clergymen  are  re- 


212 


THE  CLERGYMAN. 


cognized  ;  viz.,  bishops ,  presbyters ,  and  deacons  ;  and 
these  three  orders  are  supposed,  by  the  advocates  of 
episcopacy,  to  have  been  ordained  by  the  apostles. 
This  opinion  is  supported  by  the  circumstance,  that 
these  orders  are  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures  ;  and 
also  by  the  fact,  supposed  to  be  sustained  by  the  prim¬ 
itive  fathers,  that  they  were  uniformly  established  ear¬ 
ly  in  the  second  century. 

15.  It  is  believed  by  Episcopalians,  that  these  three 
orders  of  ministers  were  instituted  in  the  Christian 
Church,  in  imitation  of  the  Jewish  priesthood ;  the 
bishop  representing  the  high-priest ;  the  presbyters, 
the  priests  ;  and  the  deacons,  the  Levites. 

16.  On  the  other  hand,  the  advocates  of  the  Pres¬ 
byterian  form  of  government,  assert,  that  in  the  first 
century  of  the  Church,  bishop  and  presbyter  were  the 
same  order  of  ministers,  and  that  the  former  was 
nothing  more  than  a  presbyter,  who  presided  in 
Christian  assemblies,  when  met  to  consult  on  church 
affairs. 

17.  The  deacons  in  the  churches  that  have  re¬ 
nounced  episcopacy,  are  not  classed  among  the  cler¬ 
gy,  but  are  chosen  from  among  the  private  members, 
to  manage  the  temporalities  of  the  congregation,  or 
church,  to  which  they  belong,  to  assist  the  minister, 
on  some  occasions,  in  religious  assemblies,  or  to  take 
the  lead  in  religious  worship  in  his  absence.  Under 
this  form  of  government,  therefore,  there  is  recogni¬ 
zed  but  one  order  of  ministers,  and  every  clergyman 
is  denominated  presbyter,  priest,  or  elder. 

18.  The  literary  and  religious  qualifications  re¬ 
quired  of  candidates  for  orders  have  varied  in  differ¬ 
ent  ages  of  the  Church,  according  to  the  existing  state 
of  literature  and  religion  ;  and  the  requirements  in 
these  two  particulars  are  now  different,  in  the  several 
denominations.  Nearly  all,  however,  require  the  pro¬ 
fession  in  the  candidate,  that  he  believes  he  is  moved 


THE  CLERGYMAN. 


213 


by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  take  upon  him  the  office  of  the 
ministry.  Some  churches  require  a  collegiate  educa¬ 
tion,  with  two  or  three  years  of  the  study  of  divinity  ; 
but  others,  only  such  as  is  usually  obtained  in  com- 
mon  schools,  combined  with  a  tolerable  capacity  for 
public  speaking. 

19.  The  clergy  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  is 
of  two  kinds  ;  the  one  regular ,  comprehending  all  the 
religious  who  have  taken  upon  themselves  monastic 
vows  ;  the  other  secular ,  comprehending  all  the  eccle¬ 
siastics  who  do  not  assume  these  obligations.  The 
latter,  however,  in  common  with  the  former,  take  a 
vow  of  perpetual  celibacy. 

20.  It  is  the  especial  duty  of  clergymen,  to  preach 
the  gospel,  to  administer  the  ordinances,  and  to  en¬ 
force  the  discipline  of  that  branch  of  the  Church  to 
which  they  belong.  They  are  also  expected  to  ad¬ 
minister  consolation  to  persons  in  distress  of  mind, 
arising  from  the  complicated  evils  of  this  life,  to  unite 
persons  by  the  bonds  of  matrimony,  and,  finally,  in 
attending  on  the  burial  of  the  dead,  to  perform  the 
last  ceremony  due  from  man  to  man. 

21.  Ministers  of  the  gospel  occupy  an  elevated 
stand  in  all  Christian  communities,  both  on  account 
of  the  high  tone  of  moral  feeling  which  they  gener¬ 
ally  possess,  and  on  account  of  the  interest  which  the 
people  at  large  feel  in  the  subject  of  religion.  The 
work  of  the  ministry  is  emphatically  a  work  of  be¬ 
nevolence  ;  and  no  man  can  perform  it  with  satisfac¬ 
tion  to  himself,  or  with  acceptance  to  the  people  of 
his  charge,  if  destitute  of  love  to  God  and  man. 

22.  In  most  of  the  kingdoms  of  Europe,  some  one 
of  the  several  denominations  is  supported  by  legal 
enactments  ;  but,  in  the  United  States,  every  branch 
of  the  Church  enjoys  equal  favor,  so  far  as  legislation 
is  concerned.  In  most  cases,  the  institutions  of  reli¬ 
gion  are  supported  by  voluntary  contributions  or  sub¬ 
scriptions. 


214 


THE  CLERGYMAN. 


23.  The  salary  received  by  ministers  of  the  gos¬ 
pel,  in  the  United  States,  is  exceedingly  various  in 
the  different  denominations,  and  in  the  same  denomi¬ 
nation  from  different  congregations.  In  some  in¬ 
stances,  they  receive  nothing  for  their  services,  in 
others,  a  liberal  compensation. 

24.  It  is  but  justice  to  this  profession  to  remark, 
that,  taking  the  ability  of  its  members  into  account, 
there  is  no  employment  less  productive  of  wealth ; 
and  this  is  so  evidently  the  case,  that  some  denomi¬ 
nations  distribute,  annually,  a  considerable  amount 
among  the  widows  and  orphans  of  those  who  have 
devoted  their  lives  to  the  ministry. 

25.  The  meagre  support  which  the  ministry  usu¬ 
ally  receives,  arises,  in  part,  from  the  opinion  too 
commonly  entertained,  that  this  profession  ought  to 
be  one  of  benevolence  exclusively,  and  that  ministers 
should,  therefore,  be  contented  with  a  bare  subsist¬ 
ence,  and  look  for  their  reward  in  the  consciousness 
of  doing  their  duty,  and  in  the  prospect  of  future  fe¬ 
licity.  This  is  a  very  convenient  way  of  paying  for 
the  services  of  faithful  servants,  and  of  relieving  the 
consciences  of  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  give  them  a 
liberal  support. 


ATTORNEY  AT  LAW. 


1.  A  lawyer  is  one  who,  by  profession,  transacts 
legal  business  for  others,  who,  in  this  relation,  are 
called  clients.  A  lawyer  is  either  an  attorney  or 
councillor,  or  both.  The  part  of  legal  business,  be¬ 
longing  peculiarly  to  the  attorney,  consists  in  prepa¬ 
ring  the  details  of  the  pleadings  and  the  briefs  for  the 
use  of  the  councillor,  whose  especial  province  it  is  to 
make  the  argument  before  the  court.  When  the 
lawyer  prepares  his  own  case  and  makes  the  argu¬ 
ment,  as  he  generally  does,  he  acts  in  the  capacity  of 
both  attorney  and  councillor.  In  the  court  of  chan¬ 
cery  the  lawyer  is  denominated  solicitor,  and  in  the 
admiralty  court,  proctor.  Before  a  person  is  permit¬ 
ted  to  practise  law  in  our  courts,  he  is  required  to 
pass  through  a  regular  course  of  study,  and  after- 


216 


ATTORNEY  AT  LAW. 


wards  undergo  an  examination  before  persons  learned 
in  the  law. 

2.  This  profession  has  its  foundation  in  the  numer¬ 
ous  and  complicated  laws  which  have  been  adopted 
by  men,  to  govern  their  intercourse  with  each  other. 
These  laws,  as  they  exist  in  our  country,  may  be  di¬ 
vided  into  constitutional  and  municipal.  Constitutional 
law  is  that  by  which  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  and  those  of  the  different  states,  have  been 
established,  and  by  which  they  are  governed  in  their 
action.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  is  the 
supreme  law  of  the  land. 

3.  Municipal  law  embraces  those  rules  of  civil 
conduct  prescribed  by  the  supreme  power  of  the  state, 
or  of  the  United  States  ;  and  is  composed  of  statute  and 
common  law.  Statute  law  is  the  express  will  of  the 
legislative  part  of  the  government,  rendered  authentic 
by  certain  forms  and  ceremonies  prescribed  by  the 
Constitution. 

4.  Common  law  is  a  system  of  rules  and  usages, 
which  have  been  applied  in  particular  cases  of  litiga¬ 
tion.  It  originated  in  the  dictates  of  natural  justice, 
and  cultivated  reason,  and  is  found  more  particularly 
in  the  reports  of  the  decisions  of  the  courts  of  jus¬ 
tice.  The  common  law  is  employed  in  cases  which 
positive  enactments  do  not  reach,  and  in  construing 
and  applying  positive  enactments.  The  common  law 
of  England  has  been  adopted  by  every  state  in  the 
Union,  except  Louisiana. 

5.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  those 
of  the  several  states,  provides  for  three  departments 
in  their  respective  governments,  viz.,  the  legislative, 
the  executive,  and  the  judicial.  It  is  the  chief  prov¬ 
ince  of  the  first  to  enact  laws,  and  of  the  second  and 
third  to  see  that  they  are  duly  executed. 

6.  The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  is  vest, 
ed  in  one  supreme  court  and  two  inferior  courts.  The 


ATTORNEY  AT  LAW. 


217 


Supreme  Court  is  now  composed  of  seven  justices, 
who  commence  their  session  in  the  Capitol,  at  Wash¬ 
ington,  on  the  second  Monday  in  January.  The  two 
inferior  courts  are  the  District  and  Circuit  Courts.  In 
the  first  of  these  presides  a  single  judge ;  in  the  sec¬ 
ond,  one  of  the  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
the  district  judge. 

7.  The  judiciary  of  the  United  States  takes  cogni¬ 
sance  of  all  cases  which  arise  under  the  Constitution, 
laws,  and  treaties,  of  the  United  States,  and  likewise 
of  those  cases  arising  under  the  law  of  nations.  It 
also  embraces  all  cases  ^of  admiralty  and  maritime 
iurisdiction,  as  well  as  those  controversies  to  which 
the  government  of  the  United  States  is  a  party,  the 
controversies  between  two  states,  between  a  state  and 
citizens  of  another  state,  between  citizens  of  differ¬ 
ent  states,  and  between  a  state  or  citizens  thereof,  and 
foreign  states,  citizens,  or  subjects. 

8.  The  judicial  systems  of  all  the  states  corre¬ 
spond,  in  many  respects,  with  each  other.  In  all,  the 
office  of  justice  of  the  peace  is  similar.  To  these 
magistrates,  the  general  police  of  the  counties  is 
chiefly  committed,  as  they  have  authority  to  cause 
criminals,  and  other  disturbers  of  the  peace,  to  be  ar¬ 
rested  ;  and,  if  the  offence  is  small,  to  fix  the  penal¬ 
ty  ;  but,  if  the  offence  is  too  great  to  be  brought 
within  their  jurisdiction,  they  commit  the  offenders 
to  prison,  to  be  reserved  for  trial  before  a  higher 
tribunal. 

9.  In  many  of  the  states,  the  common  magistrates 
of  the  county,  or  a  select  number  of  them,  form  a 
court,  called  County  Sessions,  which  has  a  compre¬ 
hensive  jurisdiction  in  matters  of  police,  and  in  regu¬ 
lating  the  affairs  of  the  county;  such  as  building 
courthouses,  assessing  county  taxes,  opening  roads, 
and  licensing  taverns. 

19.  In  Virginia,  the  County  Sessions  is  an  impor- 

T 


218 


ATTORNEY  AT  LAW. 


tant  court.  Its  jurisdiction  extends  to  many  criminal 
cases,  and  to  those  of  a  civil  nature  involving  the 
amount  of  $300.  Although  a  great  arpount  of  busi¬ 
ness  passes  through  these  courts,  the  justices  discharge 
all  their  duties  without  compensation.  In  most  of 
the  states,  the  common  magistrates,  in  their  individ¬ 
ual  or  collective  capacity,  have  jurisdiction  over  civil 
cases,  varying  in  their  greatest  amount  from  thirteen 
to  one  hundred  dollars,  a  right  of  appeal  being  re¬ 
served  to  a  higher  court. 

11.  No  definite  qualifications  are  required  by  law 
or  usage  for  practising  in  the  magistrates’  courts ; 
accordingly,  there  are  many  persons  who  plead  causes 
here,  who  do  not  properly  belong  to  the  profession  of 
law ;  these  are  called  pettifoggers ,  and  the  practice 
itself,  by  whomsoever  performed,  is  called  pettifogging. 
Lawyers  of  inferior  abilities  and  acquirements  are, 
also,  frequently  termed  pettifoggers. 

12.  In  all  the  states,  a  class  of  county  courts  is  estab¬ 
lished,  denominated  Courts  of  Common  Pleas,  County 
Courts,  District  or  Circuit  Courts,  which  have  origi- 

'  nal  jurisdiction  of  civil  actions  at  law,  or  indictments 
for  crimes.  Over  these  are  established  the  Superior 
or  Supreme  Courts,  or  Courts  of  Error  and  Appeal,  to 
which  appeals  are  admitted  from  the  inferior  courts. 

13.  Civil  cases  are  frequently  decided  on  princi¬ 
ples  of  equity  ;  and,  in  some  states,  courts  of  chan¬ 
cery  are  established  for  this  purpose.  But,  in  most 
of  the  states,  there  are  no  decisions  of  this  kind ;  or 
the  same  courts  act  as  courts  of  law  and  equity,  as  is 
the  case  with  the  courts  of  the  United  States. 

14.  There  are  several  other  courts  that  might  be 
mentioned  ;  but  enough  has  been  said  of  these  insti¬ 
tutions,  to  give  an  idea  of  the  extensive  range  of  the 
profession  of  the  law.  It  may  be  well  to  remark  here, 
that  few  lawyers  aspire  to  the  privilege  of  practising 
in  the  supreme  courts  ;  since,  to  be  successful  there, 


ATTORNEY  AT  LAW. 


219 


it  would  require  not  only  great  abilities,  but  more  ex¬ 
tensive  reading  than  the  profession  generally  are  will¬ 
ing  to  encounter. 

15.  When  a  client  has  stated  his  case  in  detail  to 
his  attorney,  it  is  the  province  of  the  latter  to  decide 
upon  the  course  most  proper  to  be  pursued  in  regard 
to  it.  If  the  client  is  the  plaintiff,  and  litigation  is 
determined  upon,  the  attorney  decides  upon  the  court 
in  which  the  case  should  be  brought  forward,  and  also 
upon  the  manner  in  which  it  should  be  conducted. 

16.  The  suit  having  been  brought,  say  into  the 
County  Court,  it  is  tried  according  to  law.  If  it  in¬ 
volves  facts  or  damages,  it  is  canvassed  before  a  jury 
of  twelve  men,  who  are  bound  by  oath  or  affirmation 
to  bring  in  their  verdict  according  to  the  evidence 
presented  by  both  parties.  It  is  the  business  of  the 
lawyers,  each  for  his  own  client,  to  sum  up  the  evi¬ 
dence  which  may  have  been  adduced,  and  to  present 
the  whole  in  a  light  as  favorable  to  his  own  side  of 
the  question  as  possible. 

17.  When  the  case  involves  points  of  law  which 
must  needs  be  understood  by  the  jury,  to  enable  them 
to  make  a  correct  decision,  the  advocates  of  the  par¬ 
ties  present  their  views  with  regard  to  them  ;  but,  if 
these  happen  to  be  wrong,  the  judge,  in  his  charge  to 
the  jury,  rectifies  the  mistake  or  misrepresentation. 
The  case  having  been  decided,  each  party  is  bound 
ta  submit  to  the  decision,  or  appeal,  if  permitted  by 
law,  to  a  higher  tribunal. 

18.  Causes  to  be  determined  on  legal  'principles 
only,  are  brought  before  the  judge  or  judges  for  adju¬ 
dication.  In  such  cases,  the  advocates  present  the 
statute  or  common  law  supposed  to  be  applicable,  and 
then  reports  of  similar  cases,  which  may  have  been 
formerly  decided  in  the  same  or  similar  courts. 

.  These  reports  are  the  exponents  of  the  common  law 
of  the  case,  and  are  supposed,  in  most  instances,  to 
furnish  data  for  correct  decisions. 


220 


ATTORNEY  AT  LAW. 


10.  Besides  the  management  of  causes  in  public 
courts,  the  lawyer  has  a  great  mass  of  business  of  a 
private  nature  ;  such  as  drawing  wills,  indentures, 
deeds,  and  mortgages.  He  is  consulted  in  a  great 
variety  of  cases  of  a  legal  nature,  where  litigation  is 
not  immediately  concerned,  and  especially  in  regard 
to  the  validity  of  titles  to  real  estate  ;  and  the  many 
impositions  to  which  the  community  is  liable  from  de¬ 
fective  titles,  render  the  information  which  he  is  able 
to  afford  on  this  subject,  extremely  valuable. 

20.  In  the  preceding  account  of  this  profession,  it 
is  easy  to  perceive  that  it  is  one  of  great  utility  and 
responsibility.  It  is  to  the  attorney,  that  the  oppress¬ 
ed  repair  for  redress  against  the  oppressor ;  and  to 
him,  the  orphan  and  friendless  look,  to  aid  them  in 
obtaining  or  maintaining  their  rights.  To  this  pro¬ 
fession,  also,  as  much  as  to  any  other,  the  American 
people  may  confidently  look  for  the  maintenance  of 
correct  political  principles. 


v 


/ 


THE  PHYSICIAN. 

1.  Among  the  various  avocations  of  men,  that  of 
the  physician  deserves  to  be  placed  in  the  foremost 
rank.  The  profession  is  founded  in  the  multiplicity 
of  diseases  to  which  humanity  is  liable,  and  in  the 
medical  qualities  of  certain  substances,  which  have 
been  found  to  supply  a  remedy. 

2.  It  is  implied,  though  not  expressly  declared,  in 
the  Scriptures,  that  the  diseases  and  other  calamities 
pertaining-to  our  earthly  condition,  originated  in  the 
fall  of  man  from  his  pristine  innocence  ;  and  the  Gre¬ 
cian  fable  of  Pandora’s  box  appears  to  have  origina¬ 
ted  in  a  similar  tradition.  It  seems  that  Jupiter,  being 
angry  at  Prometheus,  ordered  Vulcan  to  make  a  wo¬ 
man  endowed  with  every  possible  perfection.  This 
workman  having  finished  his  task,  and  presented  the 

T  2 


222 


THE  PHYSICIAN. 


workmanship  of  his  hands  to  the  gods,  they  loaded 
her  with  presents,  and  sent  her  to  Prometheus. 

3.  This  prince,  however,  suspecting  a  trick,  would 
have  nothing  to  do  with  her  ;  but  Epimetheus  was  so 
captivated  with  her  charms,  that  he  took  her  to  be  his 
wife.  The  curiosity  of  Epimetheus  led  him  to  look 
into  a  box,  given  to  her  by  Jupiter,  which  he  had  no 
sooner  opened,  than  there  issued  from  it  the  compli¬ 
cated  miseries  and  diseases,  which  have  since  afflict¬ 
ed  the  family  of  man.  He  instantly  shut  the  box  ; 
but  all  had  flown,  save  Hope,  which  had  not  time  to 
escape  ;  and  this  is  consequently  the  only  blessing 
that  permanently  remains  with  wretched  mortals. 

4.  Since  the  introduction  of  moral  evil  into  the 

world,  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  man  has  ever  en¬ 
joyed  the  blessing  of  uninterrupted  health  ;  and,  as  it 
is  an  instinct  of  our  nature  to  seek  for  means  of  re¬ 
lieving  pain,  we  may  safely  infer  that  medicinal  rem¬ 
edies  were  applied  in  the  earliest  ages  of  the  human 
race.  ,  . 

5.  Among  some  of  the  ancient  nations,  the  origin 
of  diseases  was  attributed  to  the  malignant  influence 
of  supernatural  agents.  This  notion  produced  a  cor¬ 
responding  absurdity,  in  the  means  of  obtaining  re¬ 
lief.  Accordingly,  idolatrous  priests,  astrologers,  and 
magicians,  were  resorted  to,  who  employed  religious 
ceremonies,  astrological  calculations,  and  cabalistic 
incantations. 

6.  The  healing  art  was  cultivated  at  a  very  early 
period  in  Egypt ;  but  it  was  crippled  in  its  infancy 
by  ordinances,  enjoining,  without  discrimination,  the 
remedies  for  every  disease,  and  the  precise  time  and 
mode  of  their  application.  The  practice  was-  confined 
to  the  priests,  who  connected  with  it  the  grossest  su¬ 
perstitions. 

7.  We  are  informed  by  the  most  ancient  historians, 
that  the  Chaldeans  and  Babylonians  exposed  their  sick 


THE  PHYSICIAN. 


223 


in  places  of  public  resort,  and  on  the  highways  ;  and 
that  strangers  and  others  were  required  by  law  to 
give  some  advice  in  each  case  of  disease.  Amid  the 
variety  of  suggestions  which  must  necessarily  have 
been  given  under  such  circumstances,  it  was  expect¬ 
ed  that  some  would  prove  efficacious.  This  custom 
was  well  calculated  to  enlarge  the  boundaries  of  med¬ 
ical  knowledge. 

8.  The  first  records  of  medicine  were  kept  in  the 
temples  dedicated  by  the  Greeks  to  Esculapius,  who, 
on  account  of  his  skill  in  medicine,  was  honored  as 
the  god  of  health.  The  name  or  description  of  the 
disease,  and  the  method  of  cure,  were  engraved  on 
durable  tablets,  which  were  suspended,  where  they 
could  be  readily  seen  by  visitors. 

9.  But  medicine  did  not  assume  the  dignity  of  a 
distinct  science,  until  the  days  of  Hippocrates,  who 
reckons  himself  the  seventeenth  from  Esculapius  in 
a  lineal  descent.  This  great  man,  who  flourished 
about  400  years  before  the  Christian  era,  is  universally 
esteemed  the  “ Father  of  Medicine.”  After  his  death, 
the  science  was  cultivated  by  the  philosophers  of 
Greece,  to  whom,  however,  it  owes  but  few  improve¬ 
ments. 

10.  After  the  dismemberment  of  the  Macedonian 
empire,  learning  retreated  from  contending  factions 
to  Egypt,  where  it  was  liberally  fostered  by  the  Ptol¬ 
emies.  Under  their  patronage,  a  medical  school  at 
Alexandria  became  eminent,  and  the  healing  art  flour¬ 
ished  beyond  all  former  example.  To  the  disciples 
of  this  school,  is  the  world  indebted  for  the  first  cor¬ 
rect  description  of  the  human  structure.  Their  knowl¬ 
edge  on  this  subject  was  obtained  from  the  dissection 
of  the  bodies  of  criminals,  which  had  been  assigned 
to  them  by  the  government. 

11.  The  acquisitions  of  the  Greeks  in  medical 
science  at  length  became  the  inheritance  of  the  Ro- 


224 


THE  PHYSICIAN. 


mans  ;  but  Rome  had  existed  535  years  before  a  pro¬ 
fessional  physician  was  known  in  the  city.  This  in¬ 
attention  to  the  subject  of  medicine  arose,  chiefly,  from 
an  opinion,  common  to  the  semi-barbarous  nations  of 
those  times,  that  maladies  were  to  be  cured  by  the 
interposition  of  superior  beings.  The  sick,  therefore, 
applied  to  their  idolatrous  priests,  who  offered  sacri¬ 
fices  to  the  gods  in  their  behalf,  and  practised  over 
the  body  of  the  patient  a  variety  of  magical  ceremo¬ 
nies. 

12.  Sacrifices  were  especially  offered  to  the  gods 
in  cases  of  pestilence  $  and,  on  one  occasion  of  this 
kind,  a  temple  was  erected  to  Apollo,  who  was  re¬ 
garded  as  the  god  of  physic  ;  and,  on  another,  Escu- 
lapius,  under  the  form  of  a  serpent,  was  conducted 
from  Epidaurus,  in  Greece,  and  introduced,  with  great 
pomp,  upon  an  islet  in  the  Tiber,  which  was  thence¬ 
forth  devoted  to  his  particular  service. 

13.  Archagathus,  a  Greek,  was  the  first  who  prac¬ 
tised  physic,  as  an  art,  at  Rome ;  and  he  was  soon 
followed  by  many  more  of  his  professional  brethren. 
These  pioneers  of  medicine,  however,  were  violently 
opposed  by  Cato  the  Censor,  who  publicly  charged 
them  with  a  conspiracy  to  poison  the  citizens.  But 
the  patients  under  their  care  generally  recovering,  he 
began  to  regard  them  as  impious  sorcerers,  who  coun¬ 
teracted  the  course  of  nature,  and  restored  men  to 
life  by  means  of  unholy  charms. 

14.  Cato  having  succeeded  in  producing  a  general 
conviction,  that  the  practice  of  these  physicians  was 
calculated  to  enervate  the  constitutions,  and  corrupt 
the  manners  of  the  people,  restrictions  were  laid  upon 
the  profession,  and  practitioners  were  even  forbidden 
to  settle  at  Rome.  But  after  the  people  had  become 
more  vicious  and  luxurious,  diseases  became  more 
frequent  and  obstinate,  and  physicians  more  necessa¬ 
ry.  The  restrictions  were,  therefore,  at  length  re¬ 
moved. 


THE  PHYSICIAN. 


225 


15.  Among  the  Roman  writers  on  medicine,  Cel- 
sus  was  the  first  who  is  worthy  of  consideration. 
He  has  been  denominated  the  Roman  Hippocrates, 
because  he  imitated  the  close  observation  and  practice 
of  that  physician.  His  work,  as  well  as  that  of  his 
great  prototype,  is  read  with  advantage,  even  at  the 
present  day.  He  flourished  at  or  near  the  time  of 
our  Saviour. 

16.  In  the  second  century  of  the  Christian  era,  Ga¬ 
len,  a  Greek  physician  from  Pergamus,  and  a  disciple 
of  the  Alexandrian  school,  settled  in  Rome.  He  was 
learned  in  all  branches  of  medicine,  and  wrote  more 
copiously  on  the  subject  generally,  than  any  other 
person  amongst  the  ancients.  For  1300  years,  his 
opinions  were  received  as  oracular,  wherever  medi¬ 
cine  was  cultivated. 

17.  After  the  destruction  of  the  Western  empire 
by  the  barbarous  nations,  the  science  of  medicine  was 
cultivated  only  in  the  Greek  empire,  and  chiefly  at 
Alexandria,  until  it  began  to  arrest  the  attention  of 
the  Arabians,  in  the  seventh  century.  The  works 
of  several  Greek  philosophers  and  physicians  were 
translated  into  Arabic,  under  the  patronage  of  the 
caliphs,  several  of  whom  were  zealous  promoters  of 
learning. 

18.  In  the  eighth  century,  the  Caliph  Almansur 
established,  at  Bagdad,  a  hospital  for  the  sick,  and 
an  academy,  in  which,  among  other  branches  of 
knowledge,  was  taught  the  medical  art.  But  it  was 
in  Spain,  that  Arabian  learning  rose  to  the  high¬ 
est  point,  and  produced  the  most  successful  results. 
The  University  of  Cordova  became  the  most  celebra¬ 
ted  in  the  world,  and  continued  to  maintain  its  repu¬ 
tation  for  a  long  series  of  years.  Arabian  medicine 
reached  fts  greatest  eminence,  in  the  eleventh  centu- 

t  ry,  under  Avicenna. 

19.  In  the  tenth  century,  this  science  began  to  be 


226 


THE  PHYSICIAN. 


taught  in  the  schools  of  other  parts  of  Europe  ;  but 
its  professors  derived  their  knowledge  of  the  subject 
from  the  Arabian  school,  or  from  Arabic  translations 
of  the  ancient  authors ;  and  this  continued  to  be  the 
case,  until  the  conquest  of  Constantinople  by  the 
Turks,  in  1453.  At  this  time,  many  erudite  Greeks 
fled  into  Italy,  and  carried  with  them  the  ancient 
writings. 

20.  Before  the  general  revival  of  this  science  in 
Europe,  the  cure  of  diseases  was  chiefly  confided,  in 
the  western  nations,  to  the  priests  and  monks,  who, 
however,  generally  relied  more  upon  religious  cere¬ 
monies,  and  the  influence  of  sacred  relics,  than  upon 
the  application  of  medical  remedies.  The  supersti¬ 
tions  of  those  barbarous  times,  respecting  the  means 
of  curing  diseases,  have  not  yet  entirely  disappear¬ 
ed,  even  from  the  most  enlightened  nations  of  Chris¬ 
tendom. 

21.  The  science  of  chemistry  began  to  attract 
much  attention  about  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century ;  and  the  many  powerful  medical  agents 
which  it  supplied,  at  length  produced  a  great  change 
in  the  theory  and  practice  of  medicine.  Many  val¬ 
uable  medicines  of  the  vegetable  kind,  were  also  ob¬ 
tained  from  America.  The  discovery  of  the  cir¬ 
culation  of  the  blood  by  William  Harvey,  in  1620, 
imparted  a  new  impulse  to  medicine  ;  but,  like 
chemistry,  it  gave  rise  to  many  absurd  and  hurtful 
theories. 

22.  Researches  in  different  branches  of  medicine 
were  continued  with  ardor  in  the  seventeenth  centu¬ 
ry,  in  various  parts  of  Europe;  and  numerous  dis¬ 
coveries  of  importance  were  made,  especially  in  an¬ 
atomy.  Many  theories  regarding  the  origin  of  dis¬ 
eases,  and  their  treatment,  were  proposed,  advocated, 
and  controverted  ;  but  all  these  were  overthrown  by 


n. 


THE  PHYSICIAN.  227 

Stahl,  Boerhaave,  and  Hoffman,  three  eminent  theo¬ 
rists,  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

23.  These  distinguished  men  were  followed  by  oth¬ 
ers  of  equal  celebrity,  in  the  same  century,  who,  in 
part  at  least,  exploded  the  doctrines  of  their  predeces¬ 
sors.  The  present  century,  above  all  other  periods, 
is  remarkable  for  men  eminent  in  this  profession ; 
and,  although  all  do  not  exactly  agree  in  opinion,  yet, 
guided  in  their  conclusions  by  a  careful  observation 
of  facts,  they  are  less  under  the  influence  of  visionary 
theories  than  physicians  of  former  times.  Besides, 
many  of  the  subjects  of  former  controversy  having 
been  satisfactorily  settled,  there  are  now  fewer  causes 
of  division  and  excitement  among  the  medical  pro¬ 
fession. 

24.  Medical  science  comprises  several  branches, 
of  which  the  following  are  the  principal ;  viz.,  Anato¬ 
my,  Surgery,  Materia  Medica,  Chemistry,  the  Theory 
and  Practice  of  Physic.  On  these  subjects,  lectures 
are  given  in  several  colleges  and  universities  in  Eu¬ 
rope,  and  in  the  United  States.  In  this  country,  an 
attendance  on  two  regular  courses  of  lectures  entitles 
the  student  to  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine,  pro¬ 
vided  he  can  sustain  with  sufficient  ability,  an  exam¬ 
ination  before  the  professors,  or,  as  they  are  usually 
termed,  the  medical  faculty. 

25.  The  degree  of  M.D.  conferred  by  a  college  or 
university,  is  a  passport  to  practice,  in  every  state  of 
the  Union  ;  and,  in  some  states,  none  are  permitted 
to  attend  the  sick,  professionally,  without  having  first 
obtained  a  diploma  conferring  such  degree.  In  other 
states,  however,  no  legal  restrictions  are  imposed  on 
the  practitioners  of  the  healing  art ;  or,  they  are  li¬ 
censed  by  a  board  of  physicians,  constituted  by  law 
for  the  purpose. 

26.  The  practice  of  this  profession  is  generally 
attended  with  great  labor,  and,  in  many  cases,  with 


much  perplexity.  Diseases  are  often  stubborn  or  in¬ 
curable,  and  effectually  baffle  the  most  skilful  prac¬ 
titioner.  In  most  cases,  however,  diseases  are  under 
the  control  of  medical  skill ;  and  the  high  satisfac¬ 
tion  which  a  benevolent  physician  feels,  in  relieving 
the  sufferings  of  his  fellow-creatures,  may  serve  as 
a  recompense  for  the  many  adverse  circumstances 
which  attend  the  profession. 


THE  CHEMIST. 

1.  This  globe,  and  every  thing  appertaining  to  it, 
is  composed  of  substances,  which  exist  either  in  a 
compound  or  simple  state.  It  is  the  object  of  the 
scientific  chemist  to  investigate  the  properties  of  these 
substances,  and  to  show  their  action  upon  each  other. 
By  this  science,  therefore,  compound  bodies  are  re¬ 
duced  to  the  pimple  elements  of  which  they  are  com¬ 
posed,  or  new  combinations  formed. 

2.  According  to  the  preceding  definitions,  chemis¬ 
try  comprehends  an  immense  variety  of  objects.  It 
is  scarcely  possible  to  name  a  thing  or  phenomenon 
in  the  natural  world,  to  which  it  does  not  directly  or 
indirectly  apply ;  even  the  growth  of  vegetables,  and 
the  preparation  and  digestion  of  our  food,  depend 
upon  chemical  principles. 

U 


230 


THE  CHEMIST. 


3.  The  word  chemistry  is  supposed  to  be  of  Egyp¬ 
tian  origin,  and,  in  its  primary  application,  was  the 
same  with  our  phrase  natural  philosophy.  Its  mean¬ 
ing  was  afterwards  restricted  to  the  art  of  working 
those  metals  which  were  most  esteemed.  In  the  third 
century,  it  came  to  be  applied  to  the  pretended  art  of 
transmuting  baser  metals  into  gold.  The  science,  in 
the  latter  sense  of  the  word,  was  eagerly  cultivated 
by  the  Greeks ;  and  from  them  it  passed  to  the  Ara¬ 
bians,  who  introduced  it  into  Europe  under  the  name 
of  alchemy. 

4.  The  professors  of  the  art  were  dignified  with 
the  appellation  of  alchemistic  philosophers,  and  the 
leading  doctrine  of  the  sect  was,  that  all  metals  are 
composed  of  the  most  simple  substances  ;  and  that, 
consequently,  base  metals  were  capable  of  being 
changed  into  gold  ;  hence,  the  chief  object  of  their 
researches  was  the  discovery  of  an  agent,  by  which 
this  great  change  was  to  be  effected.  The  substance 
supposed  to  possess  this  wonderful  property  was  call¬ 
ed  “  the  philosopher’s  stone  the  touch  of  which  was 
to  change  every  kind  of  metal  into  gold. 

5.  The  greatest  rage  for  alchemy  prevailed  be¬ 
tween  the  tenth  and  sixteenth  centuries.  The  writers 
on  this  subject  who  appeared  during  that  period,  are 
very  numerous,  most  of  whom  are  unintelligible,  ex¬ 
cept  to  those  initiated  into  the  art.  Many  of  them, 
however,  display  great  acuteness,  and  an  extensive 
acquaintance  with  natural  objects.  They  all  boast, 
that  they  are  in  possession  of  the  philosopher’s  stone, 
and  profess  the  ability  of  communicating  a  knowledge 
of  making  it  to  others. 

6.  Their  writings  and  confident  professions  gained 
almost  implicit  credit,  and  many  unwary  persons 
were  thus  exposed  to  the  tricks  of  impostors,  who 
offered  to  communicate  their  secret  for  a  pecuniary 
reward.  Having  obtained  the  sum  proposed,  they 


THE  CHEMIST.  231 

either  absconded,  or  wearied  out  their  patrons  with 
tedious  and  expensive  processes. 

7.  Chemists,  for  a  long  time,  had  supposed  it  pos¬ 
sible  to  discover,  by  their  art,  a  medicine  which  should 
not  only  cure,  but  prevent  all  diseases,  and  prolong 
life  to  an  indefinite  period,  even  to  immortality.  This 
notion  gradually  becoming  prevalent,  the  word  chem¬ 
istry  acquired  a  more  extensive  application,  and  em¬ 
braced  not  only  the  art  of  making  gold,  but  also  that 
of  preparing  “  the  universal  medicine.”  Some  of 
these  visionary  men  asserted,  that  the  philosopher’s 
stone  was  this  wonderful  panacea. 

8.  Few  readers  need  be  informed,  that  the  research¬ 
es  for  the  philosopher’s  stone,  and  the  universal  rem¬ 
edy,  were,  at  length,  abandoned,  as  fruitless  and  vis¬ 
ionary;  yet  the  numerous  experiments  which  had 
been  instituted  on  these  accounts,  were  attended  with 
the  incidental  advantage  of  a  considerable  dexterity 
in  the  performance  of  chemical  operations,  together 
with  the  discovery  of  many  new  substances  and  val¬ 
uable  facts,  which,  without  these  strong  incentives, 
would  have  remained,  at  least,  much  longer  in  ob¬ 
scurity. 

9.  Although  none  of  the  medicines,  produced  in 
the  chemical  laboratory,  answered  the  chimerical  ex¬ 
pectations  of  the  chemists,  in  curing  all  diseases,  and 
in  rendering  the  perishable  body  of  man  immortal, 
yet  they  proved  sufficiently  valuable  in  the  healing 
art,  to  command  the  attention  of  the  profession  all 
over  Europe.  The  adoption  of  chemical  medicines, 
however,  was,  at  first,  everywhere  opposed,  either  as 
unsafe  remedies,  or  as  being  inferior  in  efficacy  to 
those  which  had  been  used  for  so  many  centuries. 

10.  These  prejudices  having  given  way  to  the  light 
of  experience,  chemical  medicines  came,  at  length,  to 
occupy  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  Materia  Medica ; 
and  their  value  within  the  present  century  has  become 


232 


THE  CHEMIST. 


still  more  manifest.  One  of  the  most  useful  branch¬ 
es  of  chemistry,  therefore,  is  to  make  the  various 
preparations  used  in  the  medical  art. 

11.  The  most  efficient  agent  in  the  introduction 
of  chemical  medicines,  was  Theophilus  Paracelsus. 
This  singular  individual  was  born  near  Zurich,  in 
Switzerland.  Having  studied  chemistry  under  two 
masters,  he  commenced  a  rambling  life,  in  pursuit  of 
chemical  and  medical  knowledge  ;  and,  having  visited 
Italy,  France,  and  Germany,  where  he  met  With  many 
whimsical  adventures,  which  contributed  greatly  to 
advance  his  reputation,  he  was  elected,  in  1527,  to  fill 
the  chair  of  chemistry,  in  the  University  of  Basle. 

12.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  this  arrogant  professor 
was  to  burn,  with  the  utmost  solemnity,  while  seated 
in  his  chair,  the  works  of  Galen  and  Avicenna,  de¬ 
claring  to  his  audience,  that  if  God  would  not  impart 
the  secrets  of  physic,  it  was  not  only  allowable,  but 
even  justifiable,  to  consult  the  devil.  He  also  treated 
his  contemporaries  with  the  same  insolence,  telling 
them,  in  a  preface  to  one  of  his  books,  that  “  the  very 
down  on  his  bald  pate  had  more  knowledge  than  all 
their  writers ;  the  buckle  of  his  shoes  more  learning 
than  Galen  and  Avicenna  ;  and  his  beard  more  ex¬ 
perience  than  all  their  universities. ” 

13.  It  could  not  be  expected,  that  a  man  with  such 
a  temper  could  long  retain  his  situation  ;  and,  accord¬ 
ingly,  he  was  driven  from  it,  in  1528,  by  a  quarrel 
with  those  who  had  conferred  the  appointment.  From 
this  time,  he  rambled  about  the  country,  chiefly  in 
Germany,  leading  a  life  of  extreme  intemperance,  in 
the  lowest  company.  Nevertheless,  he  still  main¬ 
tained  his  reputation  as  a  physician,  by  the  extraor¬ 
dinary  cures  occasionally  effected  by  his  powerful 
remedies  ;  although  his  failures  were  equally  con¬ 
spicuous. 

14  But  the  most  signal  failure  of  his  remedies  oc- 


THE  CHEMIST. 


233 


curred  in  his  own  person  ;  for,  after  having  boasted 
for  many  years  of  possessing  an  elixir  which  would 
prolong  life  to  an  indefinite  period,  he  died,  in  1541, 
at  Salzburg,  with  a  bottle  of  his  immortal  catholicon 
in  his  pocket.  The  medicines  on  which  Paracelsus 
chiefly  relied,  were  opium,  antimony,  and  various 
preparations  of  mercury.  He  has  the  merit  of  apply¬ 
ing  the  last,  especially,  to  cases  in  which  they  had  not 
been  before  used  ;  and  upon  this  circumstance,  his 
great  reputation  depended. 

15.  We  have  been  thus  particular  in  noticing  this 
individual,  because  he  was  the  first  who  gave  public 
lectures  on  chemistry  in  Europe,  and  because  he  gave 
the  first  great  impulse  in  favor  of  chemical  medicines. 
He  also  carried  his  speculations  concerning  the  phi¬ 
losopher’s  stone  and  the  universal  remedy,  to  the 
greatest  height  of  absurdity  ;  and,  by  exemplifying 
their  inutility  and  fallacy  in  his  own  person,  he  con¬ 
tributed  more  than  any  one  else  to  their  disrepute, 
and  subsequent  banishment  from  the  science. 

16.  Researches  for  the  philosopher’s  stone,  and  the 
universal  remedy,  having  been,  at  length,  relinquish¬ 
ed,  the  chemical  facts  which  had  been  collected  be¬ 
came,  in  the  general  estimation,  a  heap  of  rubbish 
of  little  value.  At  this  time,  there  arose  an  individ¬ 
ual  thoroughly  acquainted  with  these  facts,  and  capa¬ 
ble  of  perceiving  the  important  purposes  to  which 
they  might  be  applied. 

17.  The  name  of  this  individual  was  John  Joachim 
Becher.  He  published  a  work  in  1669,  entitled 
“  Physica  Subterranica,”  by  which  he  gave  a  new 
direction  to  chemistry,  by  applying  it  to  analyzing 
and  ascertaining  the  constituent  parts  of  material 
bodies  ;  and  his  system  is  the  foundation  of  the  sci¬ 
ence,  as  it  now  exists. 

18.  George  Ernest  Stahl,  a  medical  professor  in 
the  University  of  Halle,  adopted  the  theory  of  Becher, 

U  2 


234 


THE  CHEMIST. 


and,  after  his  death,  edited  the  work  just  mentioned  ; 
but  he  so  simplified  and  improved  it,  that  he  made  it 
entirely  his  own  ;  and,  accordingly,  it  has  always 
been  distinguished  by  the  appellation  of  the  Stahlian 
theory.  The  principal  work  of  Stahl,  on  this  subject, 
was  published  in  1729  ;  and,  since  that  time,  chem¬ 
istry  has  been  cultivated  with  ardor  in  Germany,  and 
in  other  countries  in  the  north  of  Europe. 

19.  In  France,  chemistry  became  a  fashionable 
study,  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  It 
had,  however,  been  cultivated  there  by  a  few  individ¬ 
uals,  long  before  that  period.  Men  of  eminence  now 
appeared  in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom,  and  discoveries 
in  the  science  were  made  in  rapid  succession.  Some 
attention  was  also  paid  to  it  in  Italy  and  Spain. 

20.  In  Great  Britain,  this  subject  attracted  but  lit¬ 
tle  attention,  except  from  a  few  individuals,  until  Dr. 
Cullen  had  become  professor  of  the  science,  in  the 
University  of  Edinburgh,  in  1756.  This  accurate  in¬ 
vestigator  of  natural  phenomena,  succeeded  in  en¬ 
kindling  an  enthusiasm  for  chemical  investigations 
among  the  students  ;  and  the  subsequent  experiments 
of  Dr.  Black,  Mr.  Cavendish,  Dr.  Priestley,  and  Lavoi-  , 
sier,  which  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  the  constitu¬ 
ent  parts  of  air  and  water,  diffused  the  same  ardor 
through  every  part  of  the  kingdom. 

21.  Lavoisier,  the  celebrated  French  chemist,  hav¬ 
ing  proved  the  Stahlian  theory  to  be  incorrect,  found¬ 
ed  another  on  the  chemical  affinities  and  combina¬ 
tions  of  oxygen  with  the  various  substances  in  nature. 
This  system  has  been  generally  adopted;  since  it 
explains  a  great  number  of  phenomena  more  satis¬ 
factorily  than  any  other  ever  proposed.  The  great 
chemical  agent,  in  the  Stahlian  system,  was  supposed 
to  be  an  inflammable  substance,  which  was  denom¬ 
inated  by  the  theorist  phlogiston.  To  distinguish, 
therefore,  the  new  theory  from  the  one  which  it  su- 


THE  CHEMIST. 


235 


perseded,  it  was  called  the  pneumatic,  or  anti-phlo¬ 
gistic  system. 

22.  In  1787,  a  new  technical  nomenclature  was  de¬ 
vised,  by  the  aid  of  which  all  the  chemical  facts  are 
easily  retained  in  the  memory.  Twelve  or  fifteen 
terms  have  been  found  sufficient  for  the  foundation  of 
a  methodical  language  ;  and,  by  changing  the  ter¬ 
minations  of  these  radicals,  or  by  prefixing  certain 
words  or  syllables,  the  changes  that  take  place  in 
bodies  are  clearly  expressed.  This  valuable  innova¬ 
tion  originated  with  Lavoisier  and  three  other  French 
chemists. 

23.  In  the  present  century,  many  important  dis¬ 
coveries  have  been  made  in  this  science  ;  and,  among 
those  who  have  been  distinguished  for  their  research¬ 
es  into  its  mysteries,  Sir  Humphrey  Davy,  of  Great 
Britain,  shines  pre-eminent.  In  the  United  States,  it 
has  many  able  professors ;  among  whom  are  Profes¬ 
sors  Hare  and  Mitchell,  of  Philadelphia,  Torrey,  Ren- 
wick,  and  Draper,  of  New-York,  Henry,  of  Princeton, 
Beck,  of  Albany,  Silliman,  of  New-Haven,  and  John¬ 
son,  of  Middletown. 

24.  Chemistry  is  so  extensive  in  its  application, 
that  we  will  not  attempt  to  describe  any  of  the  op¬ 
erations  of  the  laboratory.  We,  therefore,  conclude 
this  article  by  recommending  this  science  to  general 
attention  ;  assuring  the  uninitiated,  that  it  is  beset 
with  fewer  difficulties  than  they  are  apt  to  suppose, 
and  that  every  effort  in  the  course  will  be  attended 
with  interesting  facts  and  phenomena,  which  will 
abundantly  reward  the  labor  of  investigation. 


THE  DRUGGIST  AND  APOTHECARY. 

1.  The  druggist  is  a  wholesale  dealer  in  drugs, 
which,  in  commerce,  embrace  not  only  articles  used 
or  recommended  by  the  medical  profession,  but  also 
spices,  dye-stuffs,  and  paints.  The  commodities  of 
his  trade  are  obtained  from  almost  every  quarter  of 
the  globe  ;  but  especially  from  the  countries  bordering 
upon  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  from  the  East  In¬ 
dies  and  Spanish  America. 

2.  The  chemist  looks  to  the  druggist  for  most  of 
the  materials  employed  in  his  laboratory  ;  and  from 
him  the  apothecary,  physician,  and  country  merchant, 
obtain  their  chief  supply  of  medicines.  There  are, 
however,  but  few  persons  in  the  United  States,  who 
confine  themselves  exclusively  to  this  branch  of  bu¬ 
siness  ;  for  most  of  the  druggists  are  also  apotheca- 


DRUGGIST  AND  APOTHECARY.  237 


ries,  and  sometimes  operative  or  manufacturing  chem¬ 
ists. 

3.  Medicinals,  when  they  come  into  the  warehouse 
of  the  druggist,  are  usually  in  a  crude  state  ;  and 
many,  or  most  of  them,  must  necessarily  undergo  a 
variety  of  changes,  of  a  chemical  or  mechanical  na¬ 
ture,  before  they  can  be  applied  in  practice.  The  art 
by  which  these  changes  are  effected  is  called  Phar¬ 
macy,  or  Pharmaceutics ;  and  the  books  which  treat 
of  pharmaceutical  operations  are  denominated  Phar¬ 
macopoeias,  or  Dispensatories. 

4.  The  operations  of  Pharmacy,  which  depend 
upon  chemical  principles,  are  conducted  chiefly  by 
•the  operative  chemist;  but  those  which  consist  mere¬ 
ly  in  mechanical  reduction,  or  in  mixing  together  dif¬ 
ferent  ingredients,  to  form  compounds,  belong  prop¬ 
erly  to  the  vocation  of  the  apothecary. 

5.  The  apothecary  sells  medicines  in  small  quan¬ 
tities,  prepared  for  application.  Many  of  the  stand¬ 
ing  compound  preparations  which  have  been  author¬ 
ized  by  the  Pharmacopoeias,  and  which  are  in  regular 
demand,  he  keeps  ready  prepared  ;  but  a  great  pro¬ 
portion  of  his  business  consists  in  compounding  and 
putting  up  the  prescriptions  of  the  physician,  as  they 
are  needed  by  the  patient. 

6.  In  country  places,  where  there  are  generally  no 
apothecary-shops,  the  physicians  compound  and  pre¬ 
pare  their  own  prescriptions;  but  in  cities,  where 
these  establishments  are  numerous,  the  medical  pro¬ 
fession  prefer  to  rid  themselves  of  this  trouble.  In 
most  cases,  however,  they  keep  by  them  a  few  reme¬ 
dies,  which  can  be  applied  in  cases  of  emergency. 

7.  In  Great  Britain,  the  apothecary  is  permitted  to 
attend  sick  persons,  and  administer  medicines  either 
according  to  his  own  judgment,  or  in  conformity  with 
the  directions  of  the  physician.  He  is,  therefore,  a 
physician  of  an  inferior  order;  and,  as  his  fees  are 


f 

238  DRUGGIST  AND  APOTHECARY. 

more  moderate  than  those  of  the  regular  profession, 
his  practice  is  extensive  among  persons  who,  from 
necessity  or  inclination,  are  induced  to  study  economy. 

8.  The  apothecaries  in  England,  Scotland,  and 
Ireland,  are  obliged  to  make  up  their  standing  medi¬ 
cines  according  to  the  formulas  of  the  Dispensatories 
adopted  in  their  respective  countries ;  and  their  shops 
are  subject  to  the  visitation  of  censors,  who  have  au¬ 
thority  to  destroy  those  medicines  which  they  may 
consider  unfit  for  use  ;  so  that  unwholesome  or  inef¬ 
ficient  remedies  be  not  imposed  upon  the  sick.  The 
apothecaries’  halls,  in  France,  are  also  under  the  su¬ 
pervision  of  the  medical  faculty. 

9.  In  the  United  States,  there  is  no  censorship  of 
this  kind  established  by  the  public  authorities  ;  yet 
the  physicians  are  careful  to  recommend  apothecaries, 
in  whom  they  have  confidence,  to  prepare  their  pre¬ 
scriptions.  The  professors  in  our  medical  schools 
are,  also,  particular  in  naming  to  their  students  those 
druggists  whom  they  consider  men  of  honor  ;  and 
omit,  at  least,  to  name  those  who  have  been  detected 
in  selling  adulterated  medicines. 

10.  We  have,  also,  an  incorporated  college  of 
pharmacy  both  in  New-York  and  Philadelphia,  and 
in  each  of  these,  chemical  and  pharmaceutical  lec¬ 
tures  are  delivered  by  regular  professors.  These  in¬ 
stitutions,  although  of  recent  origin,  have  exerted  an 
important  influence  in  reforming  and  preventing 
abuses  in  the  preparation  of  medicines ;  and  public 
opinion,  especially  in  the  cities,  is  beginning  to  render 
it  important  for  students  in  pharmacy  to  obtain  a  de¬ 
gree  from  one  of  these  colleges.  Under  the  auspices 
of  the  institution  at  Philadelphia,  is  published  a  quar¬ 
terly  journal,  devoted  to  pharmaceutical  science. 

11.  A  Pharmacopoeia  for  the  United  States  was 
formed  at  Washington,  in  1820,  by  a  delegation  of 
physicians  from  the  principal  medical  societies  of  the 


DRUGGIST  AND  APOTHECARY.  239 


Union.  A  revision  of  this  work  is  expected  to  be 
made  every  ten  years.  Dispensatories,  as  they  exist 
in  this  country,  are  founded  upon  the  Pharmacoepias, 
and  may  be  properly  considered  commentaries  upon 
them,  since  the  former  contain  the  whole  of  the  latter, 
together  with  more  minute  descriptions  of  the  sensi¬ 
ble  and  real  properties  of  the  medicines,  as  well  as 
their  history  and  exact  mode  of  preparation. 


i 


i 

'i 


'  y 


k 


THE  DENTIST. 

1.  The  human  family  is  subject  to  a  variety  of  dis¬ 
eases  in  the  teeth,  which  generally  cause  the  final  de¬ 
struction  or  loss  of  these  important  instruments,  un¬ 
less  judicious  remedies  are  applied  in  proper  season. 
These  remedies  are  administered  by  the  dentist. 

2.  There  are  few  persons,  in  proportion  to  the 
great  mass  of  the  people,  who  seem  to  be  aware  of 
the  utility  of  dentistry  ;  for,  taking  the  United  States 
together,  not  more  than  one  person  in  a  hundred  ever 
resorts  to  the  professors  of  this  art,  with  the  view  of 
obtaining  a  remedy  for  any  dental  disease  with  which 
he  may  be  afflicted.  The  common  sentiment  seems 
to  be,  that  diseases  of  the  teeth,  and  their  final  loss, 
at  different  periods  of  life,  are  inevitable  inconveni- 


THE  DENTIST. 


241 


ences,  to  which  we  must  submit  with  the  same  phi¬ 
losophy  with  which  we  meet  other  misfortunes. 

3.  To  enable  readers  who  have  never  examined 
this  subject,  to  comprehend  its  general  nature,  we 
will  give  a  slight  sketch  of  some  of  the  irregular¬ 
ities  and  diseases  to  which  the  teeth  are  liable,  and, 
as  we  proceed,  speak  of  the  remedies  applied  by  the 
dentist. 

4.  Two  sets  of  teeth  regularly  appear,  at  different 
periods  of  life  ;  one  in  infancy,  and  the  other,  at  a 
later  period.  The  first  set  consists  of  twenty,  and 
the  second  of  thirty-two  teeth  ;  the  former  are  called 
infant,  and  the  latter  adult ;  and  all  these,  at  the  age 
of  six  or  seven,  are  upon  the  jaws  at  the  same  time. 

5.  At  the  age  just  mentioned,  the  infant  teeth  be¬ 
gin  to  give  way  to  those  which  lie  deeper  in  the  sock¬ 
ets,  and  which  are  designed  to  supersede  the  former. 
As  the  new  teeth  advance,  the  roots  of  the  first  are 
absorbed  ;  and,  after  having  been  thus  deprived  of 
their  support,  they  are  easily  removed  ;  sometimes, 
by  a  slight  pressure  of  the  tongue. 

6.  In  a  majority  of  cases,  the  whole  process  is  car¬ 
ried  on  by  nature  with  the  utmost  regularity ;  but,  as 
she  is  not  uniformly  successful  in  this  operation,  there 
is  no  other  period  at  which  the  teeth  of  children  re¬ 
quire  so  much  attention  and  care.  Sometimes  the 
second  set  rise  in  the  socket  without  causing  the  ab¬ 
sorption  of  the  roots  of  the  first.  In  such  cases,  the 
former  approach  in  an  improper  direction  ;  and,  un¬ 
less  the  latter  are  removed  in  season,  deformity  will 
be  the  consequence. 

7.  Wjien,  however,  these  precautions  have  been 
neglected,  and  the  teeth  stand  in  an  irregular  manner, 
they  can  sometimes  be  reduced  to  symmetry  by  the 
dentist,  without  occasioning  much  pain.  When  the 
front  teeth  are  too  much  crowded  by  reason  of  the 
restricted  dimensions  of  the  jaw,  the  small  teeth,  sit, 

X 


242 


THE  DENTIST. 


uated  next  behind  the  eye,  or  canine  teeth,  are  ex¬ 
tracted,  one  on  each  side,  to  give  room  to  the  rest. 

8.  From  the  ages  of  six  to  fifteen  years,  the  teeth 
of  children  should  be  examined,  at  least  once  in  six 
months,  by  a  dentist,  who,  if  skilful,  can  seldom  fail 
of  rendering  these  ornaments  of  the  human  counte¬ 
nance  regular,  healthy,  and  beautiful.  It  is  custom¬ 
ary  in  England  and  France,  for  the  proprietors  of 
seminaries  of  learning  to  employ  a  dentist  to  visit 
their  establishments  regularly,  for  the  purpose  of  per¬ 
forming  such  operations,  and  of  administering  such 
remedies,  as  their  pupils  may  require. 

9.  The  teeth  are  composed  of  very  hard  bone  and 
enamel.  The  latter  is  a  substance  exceeding  in  den¬ 
sity  any  other  in  the  body.  It  covers  the  crown  of 
the  teeth,  and  is  thickest  in  those  parts  which  are 
most  exposed  to  forcible  contact  in  mastication  ;  but, 
in  no  place,  is  it  more  than  the  twelfth  of  an  inch  in 
thickness. 

10.  The  most  common  disease  of  the  teeth  is  ca¬ 
ries,  or  decay,  and  almost  every  part  of  them  is  liable 
to  be  affected  by  it,  but  especially  the  sides  of  those 
in  front,  and  the  crowns  of  those  on  other  parts  of 
the  jaws. 

11.  The  disease  begins  its  attack  either  on  the  en¬ 
amel  or  on  the  bony  portion,  and  gradually  extends 
itself  over  the  tooth,  until  it  reaches  the  nerves  which 
supply  its  natural  cavity.  These  having  become  ex¬ 
posed  to  the  sudden  changes  of  temperature,  and  to 
the  contact  of  extraneous  substances  in  mastication, 
pain  and  inflammation  are  produced,  and  the  extrac¬ 
tion  of  the  tooth  very  commonly  becomes  the  only 
means  of  relief. 

12.  All  persons  are  more  or  less  subject  to  this 
disease,  but  some  much  more  than  others  ;  and  caries 
of  a  peculiar  character  has  been  so  often  traced 
through  whole  families,  from  one  generation  to  an- 


THE  DENTIST. 


243 


other,  that  it  is  considered  hereditary,  as  much  as 
any  other  disease  to  which  the  system  is  liable.  In 
many  cases,  caries  seems  to  be  the  effect  of  some 
serious  disease  which  affected  the  constitution,  while 
the  teeth  were  in  the  early  stages  of  formation. 

13.  Although  the  teeth  of  some  individuals  possess 
but  little  durability,  and,  when  caries  attacks  them,  go 
on  rapidly  to  decay,  in  spite  of  all  the  aid  which  sci¬ 
ence  and  skill  can  afford,  yet,  there  are  comparative¬ 
ly  but  few  instances  in  which  seasonable  and  judi¬ 
cious  treatment  will  not  arrest  the  progress  of  the 
disease. 

14.  When  the  teeth  are  but  slightly  affected  with 
caries,  especially  on  the  sides,  a  cure  may  be  accom¬ 
plished  by  the  removal  of  the  decayed  portion.  This 
is  effected,  by  the  most  approved  dentists,  chiefly  with 
small  cutting  instruments.  Formerly,  the  file  and 
the  saw  were  employed  for  this  purpose  ;  and,  by 
their  indiscriminate  and  injudicious  use,  many  teeth 
were  ruined,  and  the  art  of  dentistry  itself  brought 
into  disrepute. 

15.  Notwithstanding  the  injuries  which  have  been 
inflicted  by  the  improper  application  of  the  saw  and 
file,  in  some  instances  they  are  indispensable ;  and, 
in  the  hands  of  the  scientific  operator,  they  need  not 
be  feared.  They  are  especially  useful  in  preparing 
the  way  for  the  employment  of  other  instruments ; 
for,  in  some  cases,  the  affected  part  can  with  diffi¬ 
culty  be  reached  by  any  other  means.  But  filing  the 
teeth  for  the  purpose  of  improving  their  appearance, 
or  for  rendering  the  sides  more  accessible  to  the 
tooth. pick  and  brush,  seems  to  be  reprobated  by  the 
most  intelligent  part  of  the  profession. 

16.  When  the  caries  has  penetrated  far  into  the 
tooth,  and,  in  its  removal,  a  cavity  of  suitable  form 
and  dimensions  can  be  produced,  it  is  filled  with  some 
substance,  with  the  view  of  protecting  the  bone  from 


244 


THE  DENTIST. 


the  action  of  extraneous  agents.  The  dentist  is  care¬ 
ful  to  remove  every  particle  of  the  decayed  portion, 
and  to  render  the  cavity  perfectly  dry  by  repeated 
applications  of  lint  or  raw  cotton,  before  he  attempts 
to  fill  it. 

17.  Gold  is  the  only  substance  which  possesses 
sufficient  solidity  to  withstand  the  ordinary  friction  of 
mastication,  and  which,  at  the  same  time,  is  capable 
of  resisting  the  chemical  action  of  the  substances 
that  come  in  contact  with  it ;  yet  lead  and  tin  are 
frequently  employed  ;  and  many  have  been  made  to 
believe  that  they  answer  as  good,  if  not  a  better  pur¬ 
pose,  than  gold  itself.  The  durability  of  these  met¬ 
als,  however,  can  never  be  depended  upon,  and  they 
ought  not  to  $>e  employed,  where  the  tooth  is  capable 
of  resisting  the  mechanical  force  required  to  fill  it 
properly  with  gold. 

18.  The  metal  is  prepared  for  the  use  of  the  den¬ 
tist  by  the  gold-beater,  in  the  manner  described  in-the 
article  which  treats  upon  the  business  of  the  latter. 
The  leaves,  however,  are  not  beaten  so  thin  as  those 
designed  for  the  common  purposes  of  the  arts.  The 
portion  to  be  applied  is  cut  from  the  leaf,  and,  after 
having  been  twisted  a  little,  is  forced  into  the  cavity. 
The  metal  is  rendered  perfectly  solid  by  means  of 
instruments  adapted  to  the  purpose. 

19.  This  operation,  properly  performed  under  fa¬ 
vorable  circumstances,  generally  renders  the  tooth  as 
serviceable,  to  the  end  of  life,  as  if  it  had  never  been 
diseased.  The  hopes  of  the  patient,  however,  are 
sometimes  disappointed  by  the  unskilfulness  of  the 
operator,  or  by  the  general  unhealthiness  of  the 
mouth,  arising  from  tartar,  other  decayed  teeth,  or 
want  of  care  in  keeping  them  free  from  the  lodgment 
of  particles  of  food. 

20.  It  is  a  common  practice  to  have  teeth  extract¬ 
ed,  when  they  are  affected  with  pain  ;  but  this  opera- 


THE  DENTIST. 


245 


tion  is  not  always  necessary.  In  many  cases,  the 
nerve  can  be  paralyzed,  and  the  tooth  plugged.  By 
these  means,  teeth  which,  under  the  ordinary  treat¬ 
ment,  would  be  prematurely  sacrificed,  are  often  re¬ 
tained,  for  years,  in  a  serviceable  state. 

21.  The  next  most  destructive  affection  to  which 
the  teeth  are  liable,  is  the  accumulation  of  tartar. 
This  is  an  earthy  substance,  deposited  from  the  sali¬ 
va,  and  is  more  or  less  abundant  in  different  individ¬ 
uals.  This  deposit  is  extremely  troublesome,  and 
generally  does  much  injury  to  the  mouth,  even  before 
those  who  suffer  from  it  are  aware  of  the  mischief. 

22.  The  tartar  on  the  teeth  of  some  individuals,  is 
of  a  black  or  greenish  color,  and  very  hard  ;  on  those 
of  others,  brown  or  yellow,  and  not  so  firm.  When 
it  is  first  deposited,  it  is  soft,  and  can  be  easily  re¬ 
moved  with  a  tooth-brush ;  but,  if  suffered  to  remain, 
it  soon  becomes  indurated,  and  gradually  increases 
in  thickness  about  the  neck  of  the  teeth.  The  gums 
become  irritated  and  inflamed.  The  sockets  are  next 
absorbed,  and  the  teeth,  being  left  without  their  nat¬ 
ural  support,  either  fall  out,  or  become  so  loose,  that 
they  can  be  easily  removed. 

23.  From  this  cause,  old  people  lose  their  teeth, 
when,  in  many  cases,  they  are  perfectly  sound ;  but 
comparatively  very  few  are  aware  of  the  origin  of 
this  deprivation,  or  suppose  that  these  valuable  in¬ 
struments  can  be  retained  in  old  age.  The  loss  is 
attributed  to  the  deleterious  effects  of  calomel,  or  is 
imagined  to  be  an  evil  inseparable  from  advanced 
age. 

24.  The  affection  of  the  gums,  arising  from  causes 
just  mentioned,  is  frequently  called  scurvy,  and,  like 
caries,  produces  fetor  of  the  breath  ;  but,  when  these 
two  diseases  are  combined,  as  is  frequently  the  case, 
they  render  it  extremely  offensive.  Besides,  the  efflu¬ 
via  arising  from  these  diseased  parts  give  rise  to 


X  2 


246 


THE  DENTIST. 


many  maladies  which  terminate  fatally,  if  a  remedy 
is  not  applied  sufficiently  early  to  save  the  patient. 

25.  The  obvious  remedy  for  diseases  arising  from 
tartar,  is  the  removal  of  their  cause.  This  is  effect¬ 
ed  by  the  dentist,  with  small  sharp  cutting  instru¬ 
ments  of  a  suitable  form.  To  prevent  the  tartar 
from  accumulating  again,  and  to  restore  the  gums  to 
a  healthy  state,  nothing  more  is  generally  requisite 
than  the  daily  use  of  a  stiff,  elastic  brush,  and  the 
occasional  application  of  some  approved  dentrifice  or 
astringent  wash.  Sometimes  it  may  be  necessary  to 
scarify  the  gums,  or  to  apply  leeches  to  them. 

26.  The  operations  of  dentistry,  mentioned  in  the 
preceding  part  of  this  article,  are  those  which  relate 
to  the  preservation  of  the  teeth  ;  and,  if  performed  in 
a  proper  manner,  and  under  favorable  circumstances, 
they  will,  in  most  instances,  prove  effectaul.  But, 
as  few  persons  resort  to  the  dentist,  until  the  near 
approach  of  deformity,  or  until  they  are  impelled  by 
pain  to  seek  relief,  a  great  proportion  of  dental  oper¬ 
ations  consists  in  inserting  artificial  teeth,  and  in  ex¬ 
tracting  those  which  are  past  recovery. 

27.  When  a  tooth  has  gone  so  far  to  decay,  that  it 
cannot  be  cured  by  stopping ,  it  should  not  be  suffered 
to  remain  in  the  mouth,  lest  it  infect  the  rest.  Front 
teeth,  however,  when  the  roots  remain  sound,  and 
firmly  based  in  the  sockets,  ought  not  to  be  extracted, 
as  upon  the  latter  artificial  teeth  can  be  placed  with 
great  advantage.  In  such  cases,  the  removal  of  the 
crown  only  is  necessary. 

28.  The  instruments  commonly  employed  in  ex¬ 
tracting  teeth,  are  the  key,  or  turnkey,  the  forceps, 
the  hook,  and  the  graver,  or  punch.  These  are  sup¬ 
posed  to  be  sufficient  to  perform  all  the  operations  of 
this  kind  which  occur  in  practice  ;  and,  although 
many  attempts  have  been  made  to  invent  others 
which  might  answer  a  better  purpose,  yet  those  we 


THE  DENTIST. 


247 


have  mentioned,  in  their  improved  state,  are  likely  to 
continue  in  general  use. 

29.  It  seems  to  be  a  common  opinion,  that  any  one 
can  pull  teeth,  who  has  a  turnkey,  and  sufficient  phys¬ 
ical  strength  to  use  it ;  accordingly,  blacksmiths,  bar¬ 
bers,  and  medical  students,  are  the  chief  operators  in 
this  line  of  dental  surgery.  The  many  fatal  acci¬ 
dents  which  must  inevitably  be  the  consequence,  such 
as  breaking  the  tooth  or  jaw-bone,  are  considered 
matters  of  course.  These,  however,  seldom  happen 
with  skilful  dentists  ;  and  it  is  to  be  regretted,  that  the 
latter  are  not  always  employed,  where  unskilfulness 
may  produce  such  serious  consequences. 

30.  In  the  cut,  at  the  head  of  this  article,  is  repre¬ 
sented  a  dentist,  about  to  extract  a  tooth  for  a  lady, 
who  may  be  supposed  to  be  in  a  state  of  alarm  at  the 
sight  of  the  instruments ;  but  he,  having  thrown  his 
right  hand,  which  holds  them,  behind  him,  shows  the 
other  containing  nothing,  with  the  view  of  allaying 
her  fears.  The  manner  in  which  teeth  are  extracted, 
needs  no  description,  since  it  is  an  every-day  opera¬ 
tion  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 

31.  One  of  the  chief  sources  of  income  to  this  pro¬ 
fession,  is  the  insertion- of  artificial  teeth;  for,  al¬ 
though  few  are  willing  to  expend  much  to  prevent  the 
loss  of  their  teeth,  many  will  incur  great  expense  in 
supplying  the  deficiencies,  after  they  have  occurred. 
So  perfectly  and  neatly  is  this  operation  performed,  by 
some  dentists,  that  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish  between 
teeth  which  are  natural,  and  those  which  are  artificial. 

32.  The  materials  for  artificial  teeth  were  former¬ 
ly  found  chiefly  in  the  teeth  and  tusks  of  the  hippo¬ 
potamus,  and  in  the  teeth  of  some  domestic  animals ; 
but,  within  a  few  years,  a  mineral  composition,  called 
porcelain,  has  come  into  great  repute,  since  it  is  very 
beautiful,  and  is  entirely  proof  against  the  most  pow¬ 
erful  acids. 


248 


THE  DENTIST. 


33.  Surgical  operations  upon  the  teeth  were  per¬ 
formed  in  ancient  Greece  and  Rome,  many  of  which 
were  similar  to  those  of  the  present  day.  The  ex¬ 
traction  of  teeth  must  have  been  practised  at  a  period 
of  antiquity  to  which  the  records  of  medicine  do  not 
reach.  The  operation  is  recommended  by  Hippocra¬ 
tes,  who  describes  many  of  the  diseases  to  which  the 
teeth  are  liable.  He  also  mentions  the  practice  of 
fixing  the  teeth  by  means  of  gold  wire,  and  gives  sev¬ 
eral  formulas  for  making  dentrifices. 

34.  Celsus,  a  Roman  writer  on  medicine,  who 
flourished  about  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era, 
seems  to  have  been  the  first  author  who  described 
the  method  of  extracting  teeth,  and  the  first  who  no¬ 
tices  the  removal  of  tartar  by  means  of  cutting  instru¬ 
ments,  as  well  as  filling  carious  teeth  with  lead  and 
other  substances,  with  the  view  of  preventing  further 
decay.  Soon  after  this  period,  false  teeth,  of  bone  and 
ivory,  were  introduced.  Actius,  a  writer  of  the  fourth 
century,  is  the  first  who  mentions  the  operation  of 
filing  the  teeth. 

35.  The  return  of  barbarism  to  Europe,  nearly  ex¬ 
tinguished  the  knowledge  of  dentistry.  As  a  branch 
of  surgery,  however,  it  was  revived  by  the  Arabian 
writer,  Albucasis,  in  the  tenth  century  ;  but,  for  many 
hundred  years  after  this  period,  it  received  but  little 
attention  from  men  of  science,  the  operations  of  sur¬ 
gery  being  confined  chiefly  to  the  barbers. 

36.  The  first  modern  work  on  the  diseases  of  the 
teeth  was  published  at  Lyons,  in  1581.  This  was  fol¬ 
lowed  by  many  other  publications  on  the  same  subject, 
in  the  succeeding  century.  In  the  year  1700,  it  be¬ 
gan  to  be  required  in  France,  that  all  persons  who  in¬ 
tended  to  practise  dentistry  in  that  country,  should 
undergo  an  examination,  to  test  their  qualifications. 
From  this  period  is  dated  the  establishment  of  the 
dental  art  as  a  distinct  branch  of  medical  practice. 


THE  TEACHER. 


1.  Education,  in  antiquity,  was  entirely  a  matter 
of  domestic  concern.  In  countries  where  priestly  or 
royal  despotism  prevailed,  schools  for  the  benefit  of 
the  sons  of  the  great,  and  for  the  priests,  were  estab¬ 
lished.  Moses,  the  Jewish  lawgiver,  was  educated  in 
a  priestly  school  in  Egypt,  and  Cyrus,  at  a  seminary 
belonging  to  the  Persian  court.  In  Palestine,  the 
Scriptures  were  taught  in  the  schools  of  the  proph¬ 
ets  ;  and,  at  later  periods,  in  the  synagogues,  and  in 
the  schools  of  the  Rabbies,  reading,  committing  to 
memory  the  sacred  books,  and  hearing  explanations 
of  their  meaning,  constituted  the  chief  exercises. 

2.  In  the  Grecian  cities,  boys  and  girls  were  taught 
reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic  in  private  schools ; 
and,  after  having  completed  the  primary  course,  those 


250  THE  TEACHER. 

who  aspired  to  higher  degrees  of  knowledge,  resorted 
to  the  instructions  of  the  philosophers  and  sophists. 
This  system  was  commenced  as  early  as  500  years 
before  the  advent  of  Christ. 

3.  Two  hundred  years  after  this  period,  the  Ro¬ 
mans  began  to  have  primary  schools  for  boys,  in  the 
cities  ;  and,  from  the  time  of  Julius  Caesar,  who  con¬ 
ferred  on  teachers  the  right  of  citizenship,  they  pos¬ 
sessed  the  higher  institutions  of  the  grammarians  and 
the  rhetoricians.  In  the  former  of  these,  were  taught 
the  Latin  and  Greek  languages  ;  and  in  the  latter, 
young  men  of  talent  were  prepared,  by  exercises  in 
declamation,  for  speaking  in  public. 

*  4.  Children,  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  were 

accompanied  to  school  by  slaves,  who,  from  the  per¬ 
formance  of  this  duty,  were  called  pedagogues ;  but, 
after  slaves  and  freedmen  had  made  acquirements  in 
literature  and  science,  they  were  frequently  employed 
as  tutors  ;  hence  the  term,  at  length,  came  to  imply  a 
teacher  of  children,  and  it  is  still  used  in  reference  to 
this  employment,  although  we  usually  connect  with  it 
the  idea  of  pedantry. 

5.  Until  the  time  of  Vespasian,  who  commenced 
his  reign  in  the  year  70  of  the  Christian  era,  the 
schools  were  sustained  entirely  by  private  enterprise. 
That  emperor  instituted  public  professorships  of  gram¬ 
mar  and  rhetoric  with  fixed  salaries,  for  the  purpose 
of  educating  young  men  for  the  public  service  ;  and, 
in  A.D.  150,  Antonius  Pius  founded  imperial  schools 
in  the  larger  cities  of  the  Roman  empire.  The  most 
celebrated  place  for  the  cultivation  of  science,  in  the 
ancient  world,  was  Athens  ;  and,  to  this  city,  students 
from  all  parts  of  Europe  resorted,  even  as  late  as  the 
ninth  century. 

6.  Christianity,  by  degrees,  gave  a  new  turn  to 
education ;  and,  in  the  East,  it  came  gradually  under 
the  influence  of  the  clergy.  Schools  were  instituted 


THE  TEACHER. 


251 


in  the  cities  and  villages  for  catechumens,  and,  in 
some  places,  those  of  a  higher  grade,  for  the  educa¬ 
tion  of  clergymen.  Of  the  latter  kind,  that  in  Alex¬ 
andria  was  the  most  flourishing,  from  the  second  to 
the  fourth  century. 

7.  From  the  fifth  century,  these  higher  institutions 
began  to  decline,  and  others,  called  cathedral  or  epis¬ 
copal  schools,  seem  to  have  taken  their  place.  In 
these,  besides  theology,  were  taught  the  seven  liberal 

•  arts — grammar,  logic,  rhetoric,  arithmetic,  geometry, 
astronomy,  and  music  ;  of  which  the  three  first  were 
called  the  trivium ,  and  the  four  last  the  quadrivium. 
The  text-book  employed  was  the  Encyclopaedia  of 
Marcianus  Capella,  of  Africa.  This  compendium  « 
was  published  at  Rome,  A.D.  470 ;  and,  although  a 
meagre  production,  it  maintained  its  reputation  in  the 
schools  of  Europe  more  than  1000  years. 

8.  The  imperial  schools  established  by  Antoninus 
Pius,  declined,  and  finally  became  extinct,  in  the  con¬ 
fusion  that  followed  the  irruption  of  the  barbarians ; 
but  their  places  were  supplied  by  the  parochial  and 
cathedral  schools  just  mentioned.  These,  however, 
were  surpassed,  in  the  sixth  century,  by  the  conventual 
schools,  which  were  originally  designed  to  prepare 
persons  for  the  monastic  life,  but  which  soon  began 
to  be  resorted  to  by  laymen. 

9.  These  schools  were  connected  with  the  convents 
belonging  to  the  order  of  St.  Benedict,  and  served  as 
the  chief  glimmering  lights  during  the  darkest  period 
between  ancient  and  modern  civilization,  in  Europe. 
They  flourished  in  Ireland,  England,  France,  and 
Germany,  from  the  sixth  to  the  eleventh  century. 
The  teachers  of  these  seminaries  were  called  scholas¬ 
tic^  and  from  them  the  scholastic  philosophy  derived 
its  origin  and  name. 

10.  In  the  year  789,  Charlemagne,  king  of  the 
Franks,  issued  a  decree  for  the  improvement  of  the 


252 


THE  TEACHER. 


schools  of  his  empire,  and  for  increasing  their  num¬ 
ber.  Not  only  every  bishop’s  see  and  every  convent, 
but  every  parish,  was  to  have  its  school ;  the  two  for¬ 
mer  for  the  education  of  clergymen  and  public  offi¬ 
cers,  and  the  latter  for  the  lower  classes  of  people. 
This  monarch  instituted  an  academy  of  learned  men, 
to  whom  he  himself  resorted  for  instruction,  and 
whom  he  employed  to  educate  his  children,  and  a 
select  number  of  the  sons  of  the  nobility  and  distin¬ 
guished  persons. 

11.  The  encouragement  which  these  schools  had 
received  from  government  was  soon  discontinued  af¬ 
ter  the  death  of  this  monarch,  and  his  school  estab- 

*  lishment  declined  like  that  of  Alfred  the  Great,  which 
was  commenced  in  the  ninth  century,  on  a  scale  of 
equal  liberality.  The  designs  of  the  English  mon¬ 
arch  were  frustrated  by  the  invasions  of  the  Danes. 

12.  In  the  mean  time,  the  Jewish  rabbies  had 
schools  in  Syria  and  in  Northern  Africa,  as  well  as  in 
Europe,  which  contributed  to  the  preservation  of  an¬ 
cient  learning.  Arabian  schools  were  also  establish¬ 
ed,  in  the  ninth  century,  by  the  followers  of  Moham¬ 
med,  in  their  Eastern  and  African  caliphates,  and  in 
their  Moorish  dominions  in  Spain.  Through  these 
institutions,  the  mathematical  and  medical  sciences 
were  again  revived  in  Europe. 

13.  The  cathedral  and  conventual  schools  contin¬ 
ued,  for  a  long  time,  the  principal  institutions  for  edu¬ 
cation  in  Europe  ;  and  from  them  proceeded  many 
eminent  men.  By  degrees  the  light  of  science  began 
to  shine  more  brightly  ;  teachers  of  eminence  ap. 
peared  in  different  places,  who  collected  around  them 
a  great  number  of  scholars  ;  and  a  new  kind  of 
schools  arose,  the  heads  of  which  assumed  the  name 
of  rectores . 

14.  In  Paris,  several  of  these  teachers  gave  in¬ 
structions  in  various  branches,  but  chiefly  in  rhetoric, 


THE  TEACHER. 


253 


philosophy,  and  theology.  The  schools  thus  collected 
under  different  masters,  were,  in  1206,  united  under 
one  rector ;  and,  on  this  account,  the  whole  mass  of 
teachers  and  scholars  was  denominated  universitas. 
Universities,  in  other  parts  of  Europe,  arose  in  a  sim¬ 
ilar  manner,  and  some  of  them,  about  the  same  time. 
Those  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  according  to  some 
writers,  were  established  about  the  year  1200 ;  and 
the  two  first  of  these  institutions  in  Germany  were 
founded  at  Prague  and  Vienna,  the  former  in  1348, 
and  the  latter  in  1365. 

15.  The  division  of  the  students  into  four  nations 
was  an  essential  feature  in  the  early  universities.  It 
arose  from  the  circumstance  that  the  pupils  coming 
from  different  countries,  spoke  different  languages. 
Those  whose  language  was  the  same  or  similar,  would 
naturally  associate  together,  and  attend  the  instruc¬ 
tions  of  the  same  teachers.  This  division  into  na¬ 
tions  is  supposed  to  have  grown  up  at  Paris,  previous 
to  the  formal  union  of  the  several  schools  under  one 
rector. 

16.  The  first  teachers,  from  whose  exertions  the 
universities  originated,  commenced  their  public  in¬ 
structions  without  permission  from  established  au¬ 
thority.  Subsequently,  the  state  and  university  were 
careful  to  prevent  all  persons  from  giving  lectures, 
who  were  not  well  qualified  for  the  employment.  Ex¬ 
aminations  were  therefore  instituted  to  determine  the 
capabilities  of  students.  Those  who  were  found  com¬ 
petent,  received  a  formal  permission  to  teach,  accom¬ 
panied  with  certain  symbols  in  the  spirit  of  the  age. 

17.  The  first  academical  degree  was  that  of  bacca - 
laureus ;  the  second,  licentiatus ;  and  the  third  magis - 
ter .  The  last  of  these  entitled  the  student  to  all  the 
privileges  of  his  former  teachers,  and  constituted  him 
one  of  the  facultas  artium — the  faculty  of  the  seven 
liberal  arts ,  since  called  the  philosophic  faculty.  The 

Y  * 


254 


THE  TEACHER. 


other  faculties  were  those  of  theology,  law,  and  med¬ 
icine.  The  first  of  these  was  instituted  at  Paris  in 
1259,  and  the  two  last,  in  1260.  The  faculties  elect¬ 
ed  deans  from  among  their  number,  who,  with  the 
procuratores,  or  heads  of  the  four  nations  of  students, 
represented  the  university.  These  representatives 
possessed  the  power  of  conferring  degrees  in  the  dif¬ 
ferent  departments  of  literature  and  science. 

18.  Among  the  public  institutions  of  the  early  uni-  * 
versities  were  the  colleges,  [collegia,)  buildings  in 
which  students,  especially  those  who  were  poor,  might 
live  together,  under  superintendents,  without  paying 
for  their  lodging.  In  some  cases,  they  received  their 
board,  and  frequently  other  allowances,  gratis.  These 
institutions  were  commenced  at  Paris  ;  but  here,  as 
well  as  in  other  places,  they  did  not  continue  the  asy¬ 
lums  of  the  necessitous  only.  In  France  and  Eng¬ 
land,  the  buildings  of  universities  are  composed  chiefly 
of  these  colleges,  in  which  the  students  reside,  and 
in  which  the  business  of  instruction  is  mainly  car¬ 
ried  on. 

19.  The  teachers  in  the  universities  were  at  first 
paid  for  their  services  by  the  students.  At  a  later 
period,  the  magistrates  of  the  town  or  city  where  the 
institution  was  located,  made  presents  to  eminent 
scholars,  to  induce  them  to  remain.  This  practice 
finally  led  to  the  payment  of  regular  salaries.  From 
and  after  the  fourteenth  century,  universities  were  not 
left  to  grow  up  of  themselves  as  formerly,  but  were 
expressly  established  by  public  authorities  or  by  the 
popes. 

20.  The  inactivity  and  luxury  of  the  clergy,  had 
led  to  the  neglect  of  the  old  seminaries  of  learning. 
The  universities  were  therefore  necessary,  not  only 
to  revive  the  taste  for  science  and  literature,  but  also 
to  form  a  new  body  of  teachers.  These  institutions, 
however,  at  length  became  subject  to  undue  clerical 


THE  TEACHER. 


255 


influence,  since  the  monks  obtained  admission  into 
them  as  teachers,  and  then  labored  to  increase  the 
importance  of  their  several  orders,  as  well  as  the 
power  of  the  Roman  pontiff. 

21.  The  monks,  also,  connected,  with  their  con¬ 
vents,  popular  schools,  and  undertook  the  education 
of  the  children  in  the  cities.  But  their  method  of  in¬ 
struction  was  exceedingly  defective,  since  the  intelli¬ 
gent  investigation  of  the  subjects  studied  was  little 
encouraged,  and  since  the  memory  of  the  pupils  was 
brought  into  requisition  to  the  almost  entire  exclusion 
of  the  other  faculties  of  the  mind. 

22.  In  the  lower  parish  schools,  the  children  were 
not  permitted  to  learn  to  write,  the  monks  being  de- 
sirotis  of  confining  to  the  clergy  the  practice  of  this 
art,  which  was  very  lucrative  before  the  invention  of 
printing.  The  art  was  called  ars  clerical™  ;  and,  for 
a  long  time,  the  privilege  of  establishing  writing 
schools  for  the  children  of  citizens,  was  a  matter  of 
negotiation  between  the  magistrates  and  the  clergy. 

23.  But  the  citizens  becoming,  at  length,  more  in¬ 
dependent,  the  magistrates  themselves  began  to  su¬ 
perintend  the  education  of  youth.  Trivial  schools 
were  established,  in  which  the  trivium ,  and  reading 
and  writing,  were  taught ;  but  for  these,  as  well  as 
for  the  cathedral  and  parish  schools,  which  had  been 
neglected  for  some  time  by  the  higher  clergy,  itiner¬ 
ant  monks  and  students  were  employed  as  teachers. 

24.  The  elder  pupils  of  the  highest  class  frequently 
wandered  from  one  school  to  another,  under  the  pre¬ 
tence  of  pursuing  their  studies,  sometimes  taking  with 
them  younger  scholars,  whom  they  compelled  to  beg 
or  steal,  in  order  to  supply  their  wants.  As  late  as 
the  sixteenth  century,  Luther  complains  that  these 
vacantivi  (or  idlers)  were  the  persons  chiefly  employ¬ 
ed  as  schoolmasters  in  Germany. 

25.  A  pious  fraternity,  called  Jeronymites,  consist- 


256 


THE  TEACHER. 


ing  of  clergymen  and  laymen,  who  lived  together, 
and  occupied  themselves  partly  in  mechanic  arts,  and 
partly  in  the  instruction  of  youth,  exerted  considerable 
influence  on  education  in  general.  They  first  estab¬ 
lished  themselves  in  Italy,  and  afterwards  in  the  Neth¬ 
erlands,  on  the  Rhine,  and  in  Northern  Germany. 

26.  Much  was  done  during  the  last  half  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  and  in  the  one  hundred  years 
that  followed,  to  encourage  the  study  of  the  ancient 
classics.  The  attention  of  literary  men  was  turned 
to  these  interesting  remains  of  antiquity  by  the  arri¬ 
val  of  many  learned  Greeks,  who  had  fled  from  Turk¬ 
ish  oppression,  and  who  had  brought  with  them  the 
ancient  writings. 

27.  These  treasures  of  former  civilization  were 
unfolded  to  the  modern  world  by  the  art  of  printing, 
which  was  invented  in  1441 ;  and  the  reformation, 
which  commenced  in  1517,  also  aided  the  advance¬ 
ment  of  education.  The  corporations  of  the  German 
cities  in  which  the  reformed  religion  was  received, 
founded  seminaries,  called  gymnasia,  and  lyceums,  with 
permanent  professorships.  A  vast  amount  of  prop¬ 
erty,  belonging  to  the  convents  and  the  Church,  was 
confiscated  by  the  governments,  and  appropriated 
chiefly  to  the  promotion  of  education. 

28.  The  schools  in  the  countries  which  adhered  to 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion,  however,  continued  in 
nearly  the  same  state,  until  the  Jesuit  schools  arose, 
towards  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century.  These, 
on  account  of  the  ability  with  which  they  were  con¬ 
ducted,  soon  gained  the  ascendency,  and  for  a  long 
time  maintained  their  reputation  ;  but  they,  at  length, 
degenerated,  and  finally  became  extinct,  on  the  sup¬ 
pression  of  the  order  of  Jesuits  in  1773. 

29.  Italy,  Spain,  and  Portugal,  have,  for  a  long  time, 
been  inactive  in  relation  to  education,  it  being  left  en¬ 
tirely  to  the  clergy,  and  the  efforts*  of  the  people  in 


THE  TEACHER. 


257 


their  individual  capacity.  Much  has  been  done  in 
Austria,  within  fifty  years,  to  advance  this  important 
interest.  Under  the  late  emperor,  professorships  were 
constituted,  in  the  universities  and  cathedral  semina¬ 
ries,  for  the  instruction  of  teachers ;  and  gymnasia, 
common  and  Sunday  schools,  were  established  in  al¬ 
most  every  part  of  the  kingdom. 

30.  The  general  organization  of  schools  in  France, 
in  the  eighteenth  century,  was  similar  to  that  of  most 
other  Catholic  countries.  The  government  did  no¬ 
thing  for  the  education  of  the  people  at  large  ;  and 
the  Church,  which  possessed  a  large  proportion  of  the 
property  of  the  nation,  left  the  people  in  total  igno¬ 
rance  ;  whence  may  have  arisen  much  of  the  atrocity 
which  marked  the  early  part  of  the  revolution. 

31.  During  the  popular  reign,  the  education  of 
youth  was  declared  to  be  under  the  care  of  the  state, 
and  many  schools,  called  'polytechnic ,  were  establish¬ 
ed.  Napoleon,  also,  afterwards  instituted  several  mil¬ 
itary  schools,  and  contemplated  the  introduction  of  a 
system  of  general  education.  With  this  view,  he  in¬ 
stituted  an  imperial  university,  which  was  to  have  the 
supreme  direction  of  instruction  in  France  ;  but  his 
designs  were  but  partially  carried  into  effect. 

32.  When  the  Bourbons  were  again  restored  to  the 
throne  of  France,  they,  with  the  clergy,  labored  to 
restore  the  old  order  of  things  ;  and,  to  keep  the  com¬ 
mon  people  from  becoming  dangerous,  the  Lancas- 
terian  schools,  established  in  1816,  were  abolished. 
Efficient  measures,  however,  have  been  lately  adopt¬ 
ed  by  Louis  Philip  to  establish  schools  of  different 
grades  throughout  his  kingdom. 

33.  In  England  and  Ireland,  although  the  middling 
and  higher  classes  are  comparatively  well  educa¬ 
ted,  no  system  of  general  instruction  has  ever  been 
established  for  the  benefit  of  the  common  people. 
Much,  however,  has  been  accomplished  by  charity 

Y  2 


253 


THE  TEACHER. 


and  Sunday  schools  ;  the  former  of  which  were  com¬ 
menced  in  1698,  and  the  latter  in  1812.  Besides 
these,  there  are  numerous  charitable  foundations  on 
which  many  persons  of  limited  means  have  been  ed- 
ucated  at  the  higher  institutions. 

34.  In  Scotland,  more  liberal  provisions  have  been 
made  for  general  education.  The  system  was  com- 
menced  in  the  reign  of  William  and  Mary,  when,  by 
an  act  of  Parliament,  every  parish  was  required  to 
maintain  a  school.  The  people  have  so  far  improved 
their  privileges,  that  nearly  all  of  the  inhabitants  of 
that  part  of  Great  Britain  can  read  and  write. 

35.  The  government  of  Russia,  during  the  last  and 
present  century,  has  directed  some  attention  to  the 
promotion  of  education.  According  to  the  decrees 
of  the  Emperor  Alexander,  schools  of  different  grades 
were  to  be  established  throughout  the  empire  ;  but 
these  decrees  have  been  yet  only  partially  executed. 

36.  In  no  part  of  the  world  has  the  education  of 
all  classes  of  people  been  more  encouraged  than  in 
the  United  States.  This  has  arisen  chiefly  from  the 
circumstance,  that  a  remarkable  proportion  of  the  col¬ 
onists  were  persons  of  education.  This  was  particu¬ 
larly  the  case  with  those  of  New-England,  where  the 
instruction  of  youth,  from  the  very  beginning  of  the 
settlements,  was  made  a  matter  of  public  concern. 

37.  The  principle  of  making  public  provision  for 
this  purpose,  thus  early  adopted,  has  never  been  de¬ 
serted  ;  on  the  contrary,  it  has  become  so  deeply  in¬ 
terwoven  with  the  social  condition  of  the  people  of 
New-England,  that  there  are  few  families  in  that  part 
of  the  Union,  which  are  not  within  reach  of  a  public 
school ;  and,  in  every  state  where  the  influence  of 
the  people  from  that  section  of  the  country  is  predom¬ 
inant,  public  schools  have  been  organized  by  legal 
provisions,  and  a  fund  has  been  provided,  by  which  at 
least  a  part  of  the  expense  of  supporting  them  is  paid. 


THE  TEACHER. 


259 


38.  In  all  the  states  in  which  these  primary  insti¬ 
tutions  are  established  by  legislative  enactments,  they 
are  kept  in  operation,  in  country  places,  between  six 
and  nine  months  of  the  year.  A  master  is  employed 
in  the  winter,  and  a  mistress,  in  the  summer :  the  for¬ 
mer  receives  for  his  services  from  ten  to  fifteen  dol¬ 
lars  per  month,  and  the  latter,  from  seventy-five  cents 
to  two  dollars  per  week,  together  with  boarding.  The 
teachers,  however,  during  their  engagement  are  com¬ 
pelled  to  reside  in  the  different  families  of  the  district, 
their  stay  at  each  place  being  determined,  with  scru¬ 
pulous  exactness,  by  the  number  of  children  sent  to 
the  school. 

39.  From  the  low  salaries  received  for  these  im¬ 
portant  services,  and  the  short  periods  for  which  en¬ 
gagements  are  made,  it  is  evident,  that  teaching  a 
district  school  cannot  be  pursued  as  a  regular  em¬ 
ployment.  These  schools  are,  therefore,  supplied  by 
persons  who,  during  the  rest  of  the  year,  follow  some 
other  business ;  or  by  students,  who  rely,  in  part  or 
entirely,  on  their  own  exertions  to  defray  the  ex¬ 
penses  of  their  academical,  collegiate,  or  professional 
education. 

40.  These  schools  are,  no  doubt,  institutions  of 
great  value  ;  but,  in  the  states  where  they  have  been 
established,  they  are  evidently  much  overrated.  They 
fail  in  accomplishing  the  ends  for  which  they  have 
been  instituted,  through  the  extreme  tenacity  with 
which  the  people  adhere  to  ancient  and  defective 
methods  of  instruction,  the  frequent  change  of  teach¬ 
ers,  and  the  small  compensation  allowed  for  the  ser¬ 
vices  of  competent  instructors. 

41.  In  the  cities  and  populous  towns  or  villages, 
the  public  schools  are  kept  up  during  the  whole  of 
the  year,  and  the  system  of  instruction  is  generally 
better  than  that  pursued  in  the  country.  In  New- 
York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  in  some  other  cit- 


260 


THE  TEACHER. 


ies,  the  Lancasterian  plan  of  mutual  instruction,  with 
many  modifications,  is  preferred,  principally  on  ac¬ 
count  of  its  cheapness. 

42.  Select-schools  and  private  academies  are,  also, 
very  numerous.  These  are  located  chiefly  in  the 
cities  and  populous  towns,  and  are  supported  entirely 
by  fees  for  tuition  received  from  the  parents  or  guar¬ 
dians  of  the  pupils.  These  institutions  do  not  differ 
essentially  from  those  of  a  private  nature  in  similar 
situations  in  other  parts  of  the  United  States,  where 
common  schools  are  not  established  by  law. 

43.  In  the  Southern  states,  wealthy  families  often 
employ  private  tutors.  Sometimes  two,  three,  or 
more  families,  and  even  a  whole  neighborhood,  unite 
for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  school ;  and,  to  induce 
a  teacher  to  commence  or  continue  his  labors  among 
them,  an  adequate  amount  is  made  up  beforehand  by 
subscription.  South  of  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  and 
the  Ohio  River,  such  engagements  are  commonly 
made  for  a  year,  as,  in  that  section  of  the  Union,  the 
opinion  prevails,  that  a  teacher  can  do  but  little  to¬ 
wards  improving  his  pupils  in  a  much  shorter  time. 

44.  The  literary  institutions  which  are  next  above 
the  common  schools,  and  which  are  established  by 
legislative  authority,  are  the  academies,  of  which 
there  are  between  five  and  six  hundred  in  the  United 
States.  Some  of  these  have  been  founded  by  the 
funds  of  the  state  in  which  they  are  located,  some,  by 
the  union  of  a  few  spirited  individuals,  or  by  private 
bequests. 

45.  The  course  of  instruction  pursued  in  these 
seminaries  of  learning  varies  considerably  from  each 
other.  In  some  of  them,  it  is  confined  chiefly  to  the 
common  branches  of  education  ;  in  others,  the  course 
is  pretty  extensive,  embracing  natural  and  moral 
philosophy,  chemistry,  belles  lettres,  and  a  sound 
course  of  mathematics,  together  with  Latin,  Greek, 


THE  TEACHER. 


261 


\ 


and  some  of  the  modern  languages.  One  great  ob¬ 
ject  in  these  institutions  is  to  prepare  students  for  col¬ 
lege.  The  teacher  who  has  charge  of  an  academy  is 
called  the  principal,  while  the  teacher  who  may  aid 
him  in  his  labors  is  denominated  the  assistant  or 
usher . 

46.  The  highest  institutions  of  learning  among  us 
are  the  colleges  and  universities.  Between  these, 
however,  there  seems  to  be  but  little  difference,  since 
the  course  of  studies  is  nearly  or  quite  the  same  in 
both,  and  since  the  charters  obtained  from  the  legis¬ 
latures  grant  to  both  similar  powers  of  conferring 
honorary  degrees.  The  whole  number  of  these  es- 
tablishments  in  the  United  States  is  about  eighty. 

47.  The  principal  teachers  in  the  colleges  are  de¬ 
nominated  professors,  who  confine  their  labors  to 
communicating  instructions  in  particular  branches  of 
literature  or  science.  These  are  aided  by  assistants 
called  tutors.  The  latter  are  generally  young  men, 
who  devote  two  or  three  years  to  this  employment, 
before  entering  upon  the  practice  of  a  profession. 
The  number  of  professors  and  tutors  in  the  several 
colleges  varies  according  to  their  amount  of  funds, 
and  number  of  students. 


v 


END  OF  VOL.  I. 


'' 

\  •  p 

t  \ 


1 


CATALOGUE  OF  BOOKS. 


Harper  &  Brothers,  82  Cliff-street,  New-York, 
have  just  issued  a  new  and  complete  catalogue  of 
their  publications,  which  will  be  forwarded,  without 
charge,  to  any  part  of  the  United  States,  upon  appli¬ 
cation  to  them  personally  or  by  mail  post  paid.  In 
this  catalogue  may  be  found  over  one  thousand  vol¬ 
umes,  embracing  every  branch  of  literature,  standard 
and  imaginative.  The  attention  of  persons  forming 
libraries,  either  private  or  public,  is  particularly  di¬ 
rected  to  the  great  number  of  valuable  standard  his¬ 
torical  and  miscellaneous  works  comprised  in  the 
list,  among  which  are  the  following  : 


The  Family  Library  (each  work  is  sold 


separately)  contains  .  .  . 

vols. 

The  Classical  Library  .  .  . 

....  36 

vols. 

The  School  District  Library  . 

....  200 

vols. 

Boys’  and  Girls’  Library  .  . 

vols. 

Mrs.  Sherwood’s  Works  .  . 

vols. 

Miss  Edgeworth’s  Works  .  . 

....  15 

vols. 

Sparks’s  American  Biography 

....  10 

vols. 

Hannah  More’s  Works  .  .  . 

vols. 

Shakspeare’s  Works  .  .  . 

vols 

POPULAR  TECHNOLOGY; 

OR, 

PROFESSIONS  AND  TRADES. 


BY  EDWARD  HAZEN,  A.  M., 

AUTHOR  OF 

“THE  SYMBOLICAL  SPELLING-BOOK,”  “THE  SPELLER  AND 
DEFINER,”  AND  “A  PRACTICAL  GRAMMAR.” 

EMBELLISHED  WITH  EIGHTY-ONE  ENGRAVINGS. 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES. 

VOL.  II. 

NEW-YORK: 

HARPER  AND  BROTHERS,  82  CLIFF-ST. 


1842 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1841,  bj 
Harper  &  Brothers, 

In  the  Clerk’s  Office  of  the  Southern  District  of  New-York. 

r 


V  ' 


v 


CONTENTS 


OF 

THE  SECOND  VOLUME. 


The  Musician,  and  the  Musical  Instrument  Maker  ...  7 

The  Sculptor . 18 

The  Painter . 29 

The  Engraver . 42 

The  Copperplate  Printer . 51 

The  Lithographer . 54 

The  Author . 58 

The  Printer . 63 

The  Type-Founder . 73 

The  Stereotyper . 77 

The  Paper- Maker,  and  the  Bookbinder  ,  .  .  .81 

The  Bookseller  . . 92 

The  Architect . 97 

The  Carpenter . Ill 

The  Stone-Mason,  the  Brick-maker,  &c . 114 

The  Painter,  and  the  Glazier . 129 

The  Turner . 136 

The  Cabinet-Maker,  and  the  Upholsterer  ....  140 

The  Chair-Maker  . . 149 

The  Carver,  and  the  Gilder . 153 

The  Cooper . .  .157 

The  Wheelwright . 161 

The  Potter . 169 

The  Glass-Blower . 178 

The  Optician . .  .  .  .  187 

The  Goldbeater,  and  the  Jeweller . 198 

The  Silversmith,  and  the  Watchmaker . 213 

The  Coppersmith,  the  Button-Maker,  &c.  ....  224 

The  Tin-Plate  Worker,  &c . 233 

The  Iron-Founder  .  .  ; . 242 

The  Blacksmith,  and  the  Nailer . 255 

The  Cutler . 261 

The  Gunsmith . 266 

The  Veterinary  Surgeon . 271 

A  2 


THE  MUSICIAN,  AND  THE  MUSICAL  INSTRUMENT 

MAKER. 

THE  MUSICIAN. 

1.  The  word  Music,  in  its  modern  application,  has 
reference  to  the  science  which  treats  of  the  combina¬ 
tion  of  sounds.  It  is  founded  upon  the  law  of  our 
nature,  that  every  leading  passion  has  its  peculiar 
tone  or  note  of  expression  understood  by  all  human 
beings.  Music,  therefore,  may  be  supposed  to  have 
been  practised  in  the  earliest  ages  ;  although  it  must 
have  been  a  long  time  before  it  arose  to  the  import¬ 
ance  of  a  science. 

2.  According  to  the  Mosaic  records,  Jubal,  one  of 
the  descendants  of  Cain,  played  upon  musical  instru¬ 
ments,  many  hundred  years  before  the  flood.  In  the 
early  period  of  the  nations  of  antiquity,  and  in  fact 


8 


THE  MUSICIAN. 


among  all  semi- barbarous  people  of  later  periods,  the 
character  of  poet  and  singer  were  united  in  the  same 
individual ;  and  the  voice  was  frequently  accompa¬ 
nied  by  musical  instruments.  The  oldest  song  which 
has  descended  to  our  times,  and  which  is  stated  to 
have  been  exhibited  in  this  manner,  was  that  sung  by 
Miriam,  the  sister  of  Moses,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
passage  of  the  Red  Sea  by  the  children  of  Israel. 

3.  The  Hebrews  employed  music  in  their  celebra¬ 
tion  of  religious  worship,  which  consisted,  in  part,  in 
chanting  solemn  psalms  with  instrumental  accompa¬ 
niments.  It  was  also  used  by  them  on  the  occasion 
of  entertainments,  as  well  as  in  the  family  circle.  It 
reached  its  greatest  perfection  amongst  the  Jews,  in 
the  days  of  David  and  Solomon.  It  is  supposed,  that 
the  priests  of  Egypt  were  versed  in  music,  before  the 
settlement  of  the  family  of  Jacob  in  that  country  ; 
but  how  far  the  Israelites  were  indebted  to  them  for 
a  knowledge  of  this  pleasing  art,  is  altogether  uncer¬ 
tain. 

4.  Music  was  held  in  very  high  estimation  among 
the  Greeks,  who  attributed  to  it  incredible  effects. 
They  even  assure  us  that  it  is  the  chief  amusement 
of  the  gods,  and  the  principal  employment  of  the 
blessed  in  heaven.  Many  of  their  laws,  and  the  in¬ 
formation  relative  to  the  gods  and  heroes,  as  well  as 
exhortations  to  virtue,  were  written  in  verse,  and  sung 
publicly  in  chorus  to  the  sound  of  instruments. 

5.  It  was  the  opinion  of  the  philosophers  of  Greece, 
that  music  was  necessary  to  mould  the  character  of 
a  nation  to  virtue  ;  and  Plato  asserts,  that  the  music 
of  his  countrymen  could  not  be  altered,  without  af¬ 
fecting  the  constitution  of  the  state  itself.  But  in  his 
time  and  afterwards,  complaints  were  made  of  the 
degeneracy  in  this  art,  and  a  deterioration  of  national 
manners  through  its  influence.  The  degeneracy 
probably  consisted  in  its  application  to  the  expression 


THE  MUSICIAN. 


9 


of  the  tender  passions ;  it  having  been  previously  ap¬ 
plied,  in  most  cases,  to  awaken  patriotic  and  religious 
feeling. 

6.  The  invention  of  music  and  of  musical  instru¬ 
ments,  as  in  the  cases  of  most  of  the  arts  and  sciences 
among  the  Greeks,  was  attributed  by  the  poets  to 
some  of  the  gods,  or  else  to  individuals  of  their  own 
nation.  It  appears,  however,  from  their  traditions, 
that  they  received  this  art,  or  at  least  great  improve¬ 
ments  in  its  execution,  from  Phoenicia  or  Asia  Minor. 
It  began  to  be  cultivated  scientifically  in  Greece  about 
600  years  before  the  advent  of  Christ. 

7.  The  Romans  seem  to  have  derived  the  music 
which  they  employed  in  religious  services  from  the 
Etruscans,  but  that  used  in  war  and  on  the  stage 
from  the  Greeks.  At  an  early  period  of  their  his¬ 
tory,  it  was  a  great  impediment  to  the  progress  of 
the  art,  that  it  was  practised  only  by  slaves. 

8.  The  Roman  orators  pitched  their  voice,  and  reg¬ 
ulated  the  different  intonations  through  their  speech, 
by  the  sound  of  instruments ;  and  on  the  stage,  the 
song,  as  well  as  part  of  the  play  itself,  was  accompa¬ 
nied  with  flutes.  Wind-instruments  of  various  kinds, 
comprised  under  the  general  name  of  tibia,  and  some¬ 
times  the  cythera  and  harp,  accompanied  the  chorus. 
In  all  these  applications  of  music,  the  Romans  had 
been  preceded  by  the  Greeks. 

9.  The  Hebrews  employed  accents  to  express  mu¬ 
sical  tones,  but  most  other  nations  of  antiquity  used 
letters  of  the  alphabet  for  this  purpose  ;  and,  as  they 
had  not  yet  conceived  the  idea  of  the  octave  or  par¬ 
allel  lines,  to  express  a  variety  of  tones  in  a  similar 
manner  by  the  aid  of  a  key,  they  required  a  number 
of  notes  that  must  have  been  exceedingly  perplexing. 

10.  The  Greeks  are  said  to  have  had  about  one 
thousand  notes,  half  of  which  were  for  vocal,  and  the 
other  half,  for  instrumental  music.  All  these  were 


10 


THE  MUSICIAN. 


"T 


expressed  by  placing  the  letters  of  their  alphabet,  or 
parts  of  them,  in  different  positions.  Accents  were 
also  used,  partly  by  themselves,  and  in  connexion  with 
the  letters. 

11.  The  lines  of  a  poem,  set  to  music,  were  placed 
under  the  letters  expressing  the  tones.  The  letters 
for  the  instrumental  part  were  placed  first,  and  under 
them  those  for  the  voice.  The  notes  of  the  Greeks 
and  Romans  were  not  required  to  indicate  the  time 
in  which  they  were  to  be  pronounced,  since  in  gen¬ 
eral  the  syllables  of  their  language  had  a  natural  and 
distinct  quantity.  In  the  cases  in  which  there  was  a 
liability  to  mistake,  the  syllables  were  marked  with 
A,  if  long,  and  with  B,  if  short. 

12.  The  Romans  expressed  the  fifteen  chief  tones 
of  the  Greeks  with  the  fifteen  first  letters  of  the  Latin 
alphabet ;  and  these  were  reduced  to  seven,  by  Pope 
Gregory  I.,  towards  the  end  of  the  sixth  century ;  so 
that  the  first  seven  capital  letters  were  used  for  the 
first  octave,  the  small  letters  for  the  higher  octave, 
and  the  small  letters  doubled,  for  the  highest  octave. 
Parallel  lines  were  soon  after  invented,  on  which  the 
letters  were  written. 

13.  Musical  sounds  were  expressed  in  this  manner 
until  the  year  1024,  when,  according  to  some  authors, 
Guido  Aretine,  a  monk  of  Arezzo,  invented  points 
and  rhombuses.  He  also  introduced  the  use  of  five 
parallel  lines,  upon  and  between  which  his  notes  were 
written.  The  seven  letters  which  had  formerly  been 
used  as  notes,  now  became  clifs. 

14.  Still,  however,  the  means  of  determining  the 
duration  of  sound  belonging  to  each  note,  without 
consulting  the  quantity  of  syllables  in  the  verses  to  be 
sung,  were  yet  to  be  provided.  This  desideratum  was 
supplied  by  one  Franco,  a  German  of  Cologne,  who 
lived  towards  the  end  of  the  eleventh  century.  Some, 
however,  attribute  this  improvement  to  John  de  Murs. 


THE  MUSICIAN. 


11 


The  division  of  one  note  into  others  of  less  value  was 
invented,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  by  Jean  Mouton, 
chapel-master  to  King  Francis  I.  of  France. 

15.  The  knowledge,  of  music,  as  a  science,  was 
preserved  in  Europe,  after  the  overthrow  of  the  West¬ 
ern  empire,  through  the  influence  of  the  Church.  The 
apostles,  and  Hebrew  converts  generally,  had  been 
accustomed  to  the  sacred  music  of  the  Jews ;  and,  on 
this  account,  it  was  easy  to  continue  the  use  of  the 
same  psalms  and  hymns  in  the  Christian  Church. 

16.  Many  of  the  Grecian  and  Roman  melodies 
were  also  set  to  words  adapted  to  Christian  worship. 
In  regard  to  the  manner  of  singing,  in  the  early  days 
of  the  Church,  it  was  sometimes  in  solo ,  sometimes  in 
alternate  strains ,  and  at  other  times  in  chorus ;  in 
which  the  whole  assembly  joined,  repeating  what  had 
been  before  sung  or  read.  In  the  fourth  century, 
with  the  view  of  securing  the  proper  execution  of 
this  part  of  divine  worship,  precentors  were  instituted, 
who  were  considered  regular  officers  of  the  Church. 

17.  Pope  Gregory  I.,  surnamed  the  Great,  distin¬ 
guished  himself  by  establishing  a  new  singing-school, 
which  became  a  model  for  many  others,  in  the  west¬ 
ern  division  of  the  Church.  In  consequence  of  these 
schools,  the  singing  became  more  artificial ;  and  this, 
together  with  the  circumstance  that  the  hymns  were 
in  Latin,  which  had  become  obsolete,  at  length  ex¬ 
cluded  the  people  from  any  participation  in  this  part 
of  the  public  worship. 

18.  Gregory  also  made  a  selection  of  the  existing 
songs  of  the  Church,  and  introduced  a  chant ,  which, 
through  his  influence,  and  that  of  his  successors,  was 
at  length  extended  throughout  Europe.  It  received 
the  appellation  of  the  Gregorian  chant  from  his  name. 
It  was  also  called  the  choral  song,  because  it  was  sung 
by  a  choir.  This  chant  is  said  to  be  the  foundation 
of  our  present  church-music. 


12 


THE  MUSICIAN. 


19.  Music,  in  distinct  parts,  was  not  known  until 
after  the  introduction  of  the  improved  method  of 
writing  music,  invented,  as  before  stated,  by  Guido 
Aretine  and  Franco.  The  development  of  harmony, 
in  four  parts,  was  assisted  by  the  choral ;  but  it  was 
more  particularly  advanced  by  musical  instruments, 
and  especially  by  the  organ.  In  the  fifteenth  century, 
music  began  again  to  be  treated  scientifically. 

20.  The  Reformation  produced  great  changes  in 
the  character  of  sacred  music.  Before  that  event 
took  place3,  this  part  of  religious  worship  was  confined 
to  a  few  fixed  forms  of  texts,  as  in  the  mass,  and  this 
is  still  the  case  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church ;  but 
the  Protestants  allow  great  variety  both  in  the  poetry 
and  music.  Luther’s  agency  in  the  production  of 
these  changes  was  very  considerable.  During  the 
seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  church  music 
became  continually  more  brilliant,  and  always  more 
corrupted,  by  the  intermixture  of  profane  mysic. 

21.  In  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries* 
there  grew  up,  at  the  courts  of  the  European  mon^ 
archs,  the  free  chamber  style,  from  which  arose  that 
which  was  afterwards  used  in  the  theatre.  The  opera* 
which  originated  with  three  young  noblemen  at  Flor¬ 
ence  in  1594,  has  contributed  especially  to  the  splen¬ 
dor  and  variety  of  modern  vocal  music,  the  advance¬ 
ment  of  which  is  claimed  particularly  by  the  Italians* 
as  that  of  the  instrumental  kind  is  claimed  by  the 
Germans  and  French. 

22.  The  composition  of  music,  and  its  execution 
either  vocally  ,  or  instrumentally,  as  well  as  the  busi¬ 
ness  of  imparting  a  knowledge  of  it  to  others,  are 
embraced  in  the  employment  of  the  musician ;  al¬ 
though  it  is  seldom,  that  all  these  branches  are  prac« 
tised  by  one  and  the  same  individual.  Music  is  one 
of  the  fine  arts,  and,  during  the  middle  ages,  was  one 
of  the  branches  of  what  was  then  considered  a  learn 
ed  education. 


MUSICAL  INSTRUMENT-MAKER.  13 


23.  Since  the  scientific  revival  of  music,  the  art 
has  had  so  many  distinguished  professors,  that  we  will 
not  even  attempt  to  give  a  list  of  their  names.  Their 
number  was  increased,  and  the  art  greatly  perfected, 
by  the  singing-schools,  called  conservatories ,  estab¬ 
lished  especially  in  Italy,  either  at  the  public  expense, 
or  by  the  liberality  of  individuals. 

MUSICAL  INSTRUMENT-MAKER. 

1.  This  artist  unites  in  his  business  some  of  the 
operations  of  the  cabinet-maker,  turner,  and  brazier. 
He  also  is  dependent  upon  the  wire.drawer,  and  the 
tanner  and  currier,  for  some  of  his  materials.  So 
great,  however,  is  the  number  of  musical  instruments, 
and  so  different  their  nature  and  construction,  that 
the  business  of  making  them  is  divided  into  several 
branches,  all  of  which  are  never  pursued,  or  carried 
on,  by  one  person.  But,  without  reference  to  the 
several  divisions  of  this  business,  we  will  proceed  to 
mention  or  describe  the  principal  instruments  which 
are  now  in  most  common  use. 

2.  The  organ  is  the  largest  of  all  musical  instru¬ 
ments,  and,  in  its  improved  state,  so  complex  that  a 
mere  description  of  it  cannot  be  well  understood. 
Nevertheless,  we  will  endeavor  to  give  the  reader 
some  idea  of  the  general  principles  on  which  it  is 
constructed. 

3.  The  most  essential  and  prominent  parts  of  this 
machine  are  the  wind.chest,  the  pipes ,  and  the  bellows. 
The  former  of  these  is  an  oblong  box,  made  perfectly 
air-tight,  and  placed  in  a  horizontal  position.  The 
top  of  this  chest  is  perforated  with  several  rows  of 
holes  of  different  sizes,  and  into  these  are  inserted 
the  pipes.  Those  for  the  higher  notes  are  of  a  cyl¬ 
indrical  form,  and  are  made  of  a  mixture  of  metals, 
chiefly  of  tin  and  lead  ;  but  those  designed  for  the 
expression  of  the  lowest  notes  of  the  base  are  made 

II.— B 


14  MUSICAL  INSTRUMENT-MAKER. 


of  wood,  in  a  square  form.  The  dimensions  of  these 
pipes  are  regulated  by  a  diapason ,  or  scale. 

4.  There  are  as  many  of  these  rows  of  pipes, 
which  are  called  stops,  as  there  are  kinds  of  tones  in 
the  organ;  and  to  every  row  or  stop  is  a  plug,  at¬ 
tached  to  a  slide,  which  is  denominated  a  register,  and 
which  is  designed  to  regulate  the  admission  of  wind 
into  the  pipes.  The  pipes  are  also  furnished  with 
valves,  which  can  be  opened  at  pleasure,  by  means 
of  keys  similar  to  those  of  the  piano-forte.  Some 
organs  have  few,  others  have  many  stops  ;  and,  in 
order  to  regulate  the  force  of  sound,  most  church  or¬ 
gans  have  two  or  three  rows  of  keys,  whereby  a 
greater  or  less  number  of  pipes  may  be  filled,  and  the 
powers  of  the  instrument  may  be  controlled  in  what 
is  called  the  small  organ ,  or  let  loose,  so  as  to  become 
the  full  organ. 

5.  The  fingering  of  an  organ  is  similar  to  that  of 
the  piano-forte,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  position  of 
the  keys ;  but,  on  account  of  the  great  number  of 
holding  notes  in  organ  music,  and  the  manner  in 
which  the  sound  is  produced,  the  fingers  are  more 
kept  down  ;  whence  it  is  considered  injurious  for  per¬ 
formers  on  the  piano-forte  to  practise  on  the  organ, 
lest  that  lightness  of  touch,  so  necessary  for  the  for¬ 
mer  instrument,  be  affected.  It  is  hardly  necessary 
to  remark  that,  during  the  performance  on  the  organ, 
the  wind-chest  is  filled  by  means  of  the  bellows. 

6.  The  structure  of  the  organ  is  lofty,  elegant,  and 
majestic  ;  and  its  solemnity,  grandeur,  and  volume  of 
tone,  have  obtained  for  it  a  pre-eminence  over  every 
other  instrument  for  the  sacred  purposes  to  which  it 
has  been  applied.  The  largest  organ  known  is  in 
St.  Peter’s  Church,  at  Rome.  It  has  one  hundred 
stops. 

7.  The  church  organ  was  probably  suggested  by 
the  water  organ  of  the  Greeks,  which  was  invented 


MUSICAL  INSTRUMENT-MAKER.  15 


five  or  six  hundred  years  before  our  era.  At  what 
period,  organs  began  to  be  employed  in  churches,  can¬ 
not  now  be  ascertained.  By  some,  it  is  said  that 
Pope  Vitelianus  caused  them  to  be  used  in  Rome  in 
the  seventh  century.  Others  are  of  opinion,  that  they 
were  not  introduced  until  three  hundred  years  later. 
But,  be  this  as  it  may,  the  church  organ  was  not  in 
common  use  until  the  fourteenth  century ;  and  now 
it  is  very  different  in  its  construction  from  that  of 
early  times.  It  has  received  many  additions  and  im¬ 
provements  since  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  cen¬ 
tury. 

8.  The  hand  or  barrel  organ  consists  of  a  movea¬ 
ble  cylinder,  on  which,  by  means  of  wires,  pins,  and 
staples,  are  marked  the  tunes  which  it  is  intended  to 
perform.  These  pins  and  staples,  by  the  revolution 
of  the  barrel,  act  upon  the  keys  within,  and  give  ad¬ 
mission  to  the  wind  from. the  bellows  to  the  pipes. 
The  hand  organ  is  so  contrived  that  the  revolution  of 
the  barrel  gives  motion  to  the  bellows. 

9.  There  are  several  instruments  belonging  to  the 
class  of  horns,  all  of  which  are  made  of  brass  or  sil¬ 
ver.  Those  of  the  latter  kind  of  metal  are  by  far  the 
softest  in  tone,  but  brass  is  the  material  most  com¬ 
monly  employed.  The  chief  instruments  belonging 
to  this  class  are  the  trumpet,  the  French  horn,  the 
bugle,  the  Kent  bugle,  the  trombone,  and  the  bass- 
horn.  The  serpent  seems  to  be  the  connecting  link 
between  the  trumpet  and  the  flute. 

10.  The  instruments  classed  with  the  flute,  are  the 
common  flutes  of  various  keys,  German  flutes,  and 
several  kinds  of  flageolets.  Nearly  allied  to  these 
are  the  clarionet,  the  hautboy,  and  bassoon.  The 
breath  is  applied  ^  to  the  flageolet  through  an  ivory 
tube  at  the  end ;  and,  in  the  three  last  named  instru¬ 
ments,  a  thin  reed,  capable  of  a  free  vibration,  is  a 
part  of  the  mouth-piece. 


16  MUSICAL  INSTRUMENT-MAKER.  . 

11.  Of  the  instruments  which  produce  musical 
sounds  by  the  vibration  of  strings,  there  are  a  great 
number,  of  which  the  following  are  the  principal ; — 
the  lyre,  the  harp,  the  guitar,  the  lute,  the  dulcimer, 
the  harpsichord,  the  spinnet,  the  piano-forte,  the  vio¬ 
lin,  the  violincello,  and  the  base-viol.  The  strings  of 
the  three  last  are  agitated  with  a  bow  ;  but  those  of 
this  class  first  mentioned,  are  vibrated  by  the  thumb 
and  fingers,  by  some  little  instrument  held  in  the  hand, 
or  by  little  hammers,  moved  by  keys,  as  in  the  piano¬ 
forte. 

12.  The  piano-forte  is  said  to  be  the  invention  of 
Gottlieb  Schroder,  of  Hohenstein,  in  Saxony,  born  in 
Dresden,  about  the  year  1717.  Before  the  introduc¬ 
tion  of  this  instrument,  the  clavichord,  harpsichord, 
and  spinnet,  supplied  its  place.  On  all  of  these  in¬ 
struments  complete  harmony  can  be  produced  by  a 
single  performer,  and  the  most  difficult  series  of  tones 
can  be  executed  with  rapidity,  by  means  of  a  simple 
mechanism. 

13.  The  pianoforte  has  been  gradually  improved, 
until  it  has  become  one  of  the  most  elegant  instru¬ 
ments  in  the  whole  compass  of  musical  practice.  In 
firmness  and  strength  of  tone,  the  English  piano¬ 
fortes  formerly  surpassed  all  others  ;  but,  within  a 
few  years,  they  have  been  equalled,  and  in  some  re¬ 
spects  excelled,  by  those  of  American  workmanship. 
The  manufacture  of  this  instrument  constitutes  the 
most  extensive  branch  of  musical  instrument-making. 

14.  The  instruments  of  percussion  are  the  military 
drum,  base-drum,  kettle-drum,  tabor,  tamborine,  and 
the  triangle.  The  kettle-drum  has  received  its  name 
from  its  conformation.  It  has  but  one  head,  and  is 
used  in  orchestres,  and  by  the  cavalry  of  modern  ar¬ 
mies,  especially  in  Europe.  The  tabor  has  two  heads, 
about  three  inches  apart,  and  is  beaten  with  one  stick. 
The  tamborine  has  one  head,  drawn  over  a  hoop,  to 


MUSICAL  INSTRUMENT-MAKER.  17 

which  are  attached  small  bells  and  bits  of  tin,  to  make 
a  jingling  sound.  The  time  is  beaten  on  the  head 
with  the  hand. 

15.  The  bag-pipe  is  a  wind  instrument  of  high  an¬ 
tiquity  among  the  northern  nations  of  Europe  ;  but  it 
has  been  so  long  a  favorite  with  the  natives  of  Scot¬ 
land,  that  it  may  be  considered  their  national  instru¬ 
ment.  It  consists  of  a  leather  bag  and  three  pipes. 
The  first  of  the  pipes  is  that  by  which  the  droning 
noise  is  produced,  the  second  emits  wind  from  the 
bottom  of  the  bag,  and  the  third  is  that  on  which  the 
music  is  made. 

16.  During  the  performance  on  the  bag-pipes,  the 
bag  is  placed  under  the  arm,  and  worked  like  a  bel¬ 
lows,  while  the  notes  are  modulated  as  on  a  flute  or 
hautboy,  by  stopping  and  opening  the  holes,  nine  in 
number,  with  the  ends  of  the  fingers  and  thumb.  The 
bag  is  filled  by  means  of  the  breath  blown  into  it 
through  a  pipe.  In  Rome,  at  the  time  of  Advent,  the 
peasants  of  the  mountains  express  their  veneration  for 
the  Virgin  by  playing  on  this  instrument  before  her 
image. 

B  2 


1 


i 


THE  SCULPTOR. 

1.  Sculpture  is  one  of  the  fine  arts.  In  its  most 
extended  sense,  it  includes  not  only  modelling  figures 
in  clay,  wax,  and  plaster  of  Paris,  and  carving  them 
in  wood,  stone,  and  marble,  but  also  casting  them  in 
bronze,  lead,  or  iron,  as  well  as  enchasing  and  en¬ 
graving. 

2.  The  productions  of  this  art  are  known  under 
various  denominations,  but  the  principal  are  statues , 
busts,  and  bas-reliefs.  The  first  of  these  are  entire 
representations  of  men  or  animals  in  full  relief ;  the 
second  are  upper  parts  of  statues ;  and  the  last  are 
figures  more  or  less  elevated  from  the  body  or  ground 
on  which  they  are  formed. 

3.  The  different  degrees  of  elevation  in  reliefs,  are 
expressed  by  various  terms  borrowed  from  t'  e  Ital- 


THE  SCULPTOR. 


19 


ian.  A  figure  is  said  to  be  in  alto  relievo ,  or  high  re¬ 
lief,  when  but  a  small  proportion  of  it  is  buried  in  the 
back-ground ;  in  mezzo  relievo,  or  middle  relief,  when 
one  half  of  it  is  above  the  surface  ;  and  in  basso  relie¬ 
vo,  or  low  relief,  when  but  little  elevated,  like  figures 
upon  coin.  Bas-reliefs  are  usually  applied  as  orna¬ 
ments  to  buildings,  and  to  the  pediments  of  statues. 

4.  The  subjects  of  sculpture,  with  a  few  exceptions, 
are  the  same  as  those  of  painting ;  and  the  course  of 
study  essential  to  proficiency  in  either,  is  very  simi¬ 
lar.  They  both  require  much  taste  and  practice,  and 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  human  form  and  other 
objects  frequently  represented.  The  young  artist  be¬ 
gins  with  imitating  the  most  perfect  models  of  Grecian 
art ;  and,  after  having  become  well  acquainted  with 
their  beauties,  he  proceeds  to  the  imitation  of  nature. 

5.  When  any  considerable  work  in  stone  or  mar¬ 
ble  is  to  be  done,  the  sculptor  forms  a  model  of  clay 
or  wax,  to  guide  him  in  the  execution.  The  soft  ma¬ 
terial  is  moulded  to  the  proposed  form  with  the  hands 
and  small  instruments  of  ivory.  The  model  is  by  far 
the  most  difficult  part  of  the  work,  and  it  is  here  the 
genius  of  the  artist  is  to  be  displayed.  The  process 
of  copying  the  model  in  stone  or  in  any  other  sub¬ 
stance,  is  an  operation  merely  mechanical,  and  can 
often  be  done  by  another  person  as  well  as  by  the 
scientific  sculptor  himself. 

6.  The  model  having  been  prepared,  the  block  of 
marble  or  stone  is  marked  at  certain  points  corre¬ 
sponding  to  its  chief  elevation  and  concavities.  The 
material  is  then  wrought  to  the  rough  outline  of  the 
figure,  by  means  of  strong  steel  points,  drills,  and 
other  perforating  tools ;  and  the  asperities  are  after¬ 
wards  removed  with  chisels,  and  with  rasps  and  files 
of  different  shapes.  When  a  high  polish  is  required, 
it  is  produced  by  friction  with  pumice-stone,  tripoli, 
and  straw  ashes. 


20 


THE  SCULPTOR. 


7.  Marble  and  stone  are  carved  in  a  similar  man¬ 
ner  ;  but  the  latter,  being  softer,  can  be  wrought  with 
less  difficulty.  The  defects  which  may  be  met  with 
in  the  stone  are  repaired  with  a  composition  of  plas¬ 
ter  of  Paris  and  the  same  stone,  pulverized  and  mixed 
with  water. 

8.  Casts  in  plaster  of  Paris  and  bronze  are  taken 
from  models,  statues,  busts,  bas-reliefs,  and  living  per¬ 
sons.  To  do  this,  it  is  necessary  to  form  a  mould 
from  the  subject  to  be  copied.  This  is  done  by  spread¬ 
ing  over  it  some  soft  substance,  which  can  be  readily 
forced  into  all  the  cavities,  and  which  will  harden  by 
drying  or  cooling.  Plaster  of  Paris  is  the  most  usu¬ 
al  material  employed  for  this  purpose. 

9.  When  the  subject  is  a  bas-relief,  or  any  other 
one-sided  figure  of  a  similar  kind,  the  mould  can  be 
withdrawn  without  injury,  in  a  single  piece  ;  but  if  it 
is  a  statue,  or  any  other  figure  of  like  form,  it  is  ne¬ 
cessary  to  divide  the  mould  into  several  pieces,  in  or¬ 
der  to  a  safe  removal.  These  pieces  again  united 
constitute  a  perfect  mould.  While  the  artist  is  form¬ 
ing  the  mould  on  the  face  of  a  living  person,  the  lat¬ 
ter  breathes  through  tubes  inserted  into  the  nostrils. 

10.  In  taking  casts  from  such  a  mould,  the  inter¬ 
nal  surface  is  oiled  to  prevent  adhesion,  and  then  plas¬ 
ter  mixed  with  water  is  poured  into  it  through  a  small 
orifice.  The  mould  is  afterwards  turned  in  every  di¬ 
rection,  that  the  plaster  may  cover  every  part  of  the 
surface  ;  and  when  a  sufficiency  of  it  has  been  dis¬ 
tributed  to  produce  the  requisite  strength,  and  the 
plaster  has  acquired  the  proper  solidity,  the  several 
pieces  are  removed  from  the  cast,  which,  of  course, 
is  an  exact  resemblance  of  the  subject  on  which  the 
mould  was  formed. 

11.  Superfluous  portions  of  the  material,  produced 
by  the  seams  in  the  mould,  are  removed  with  suitable 
instruments,  and  applications  of  fresh  plaster  are 


THE  SCULPTOR. 


21 


made,  where  necessary  to  repair  blemishes.  The 
cast  is  finished  by  dipping  it  in  a  varnish  made  of 
soap,  white  wax,  and  water,  and  afterwards  rubbing 
it  with  soft  linen.  The  poli’sh  produced  in  this  man¬ 
ner,  approaches  that  of  marble. 

12.  The  durability  of  plaster  casts,  exposed  to  the 
weather,  is  greatly  increased  by  saturating  them  with 
linseed  oil  combined  with  wax  or  rosin.  They  are 
made  to  resemble  bronze  by  the  application  of  a  soap 
composed  of  linseed  oil  and  soda,  and  colored  with 
the  sulphate  of  copper  and  iron. 

13.  Moulds  are,  also,  formed  of  a  warm  solution  of 
glue,  which  hardens  upon  cooling,  and  such  are  call¬ 
ed  elastic  moulds.  This  material  is  sometimes  pre¬ 
ferred  on  account  of  its  more  easy  separation  from 
irregular  surfaces.  For  small  and  delicate  impres¬ 
sions  in  bas-relief,  melted  sulphur  is  sometimes  em¬ 
ployed  ;  also  a  strong  solution  of  isinglass  in  proof 
spirits.  All  three  of  the  substances  last  mentioned 
yield  sharper  impressions  than  plaster  of  Paris. 

14.  Statues  designed  to  occupy  situations  in  which 
they  may  be  exposed  to  the  weather  and  mechanical 
violence,  are  often  made  of  bronze  cast  in  moulds. 
The  external  portions  of  the  mould  are  made  on  the 
pattern,  out  of  plaster,  brick-dust,  and  water.  The 
mould  is  then  covered  on  the  inside  with  a  coating  of 
clay  as  thick  as  the  bronze  is  intended  to  be,  and  the 
several  pieces  are  afterwards  put  together,  or  dosed. 
The  internal  cavity  is  next  filled  with  a  composition 
like  that  on  the  other  side  of  the  clay. 

15.  When  this  has  been  done,  the  several  pieces 
forming  the  outside  of  the  mould  are  separated,  and 
the  clay  carefully  removed.  These  having  been 
again  united,  and  the  core  or  internal  portion  of  the 
mould  secured  in  its  true  position,  the  whole  is  bound 
with  iron  hoops,  and  thoroughly  dried.  The  melted 
bronze  is  poured  into  the  cavity  formed  by  the  remo- 


22 


THE  SCULPTOR. 


val  of  the  clay,  through  an  aperture  made  for  the 
purpose.  The  cast  is  afterwards  rendered  smooth 
by  mechanical  means. 

16.  It  is  conjectured  with  much  reason,  that  sculp¬ 
ture  was  one  of  the  arts  practised  before  the  deluge, 
and  that  it  was  transmitted  to  posterity  by  the  survi¬ 
vors  of  that  catastrophe.  The  first  images  were 
probably  made  for  the  purpose  of  perpetuating  the 
memory  of  the  dead  ;  but,  in  process  of  time,  they 
became  objects  of  adoration.  As  the  Chaldeans  were 
unquestionably  the  first  idolators  after  the  flood,  so 
are  they  supposed  to  have  been  the  first  who  made 
progress  in  sculpture. 

17.  The  first  notice  of  this  art  in  the  Mosaic  wri¬ 
tings,  is  found  in  the  passage  relative  to  the  teraphim, 
or  idols,  which  Rachel,  the  wife  of  Jacob,  carried 
clandestinely  from  her  father’s  house  ;  and  the  first 
persons  mentioned  in  the  Bible,  as  artists,  are  Aholi- 
ab  and  Bezaleel,  who  formed  the  cherubim  which  cov¬ 
ered  the  mercy-seat,  together  with  some  other  furni¬ 
ture  of  the  tabernacle,  and  the  sculptured  ornaments 
of  the  garments  of  the  high-priest. 

18.  From  the  same  authority,  we  learn  that  the 
nations  expelled  from  Canaan,  by  the  Jewish  people, 
were  not  ignorant  of  sculpture  and  painting;  for  Mo¬ 
ses  repeatedly  commands  the  latter  to  destroy  the 
'pictures  and  molten  images  which  might  be  discover¬ 
ed  in  their  progress  through  the  land.  The  Israel¬ 
ites  crossed  the  river  Jordan  about  1500  years  before 
the  commencement  of  our  era. 

19.  From  this  time  to  the  end  of  the  Jewish  poli¬ 
ty,  we  often  meet  in  the  Scriptures  with  indications 
of  the  fine  arts ;  but  the  splendor  of  Solomon’s  tem¬ 
ple,  clearly  points  out  the  days  of  that  prince  as  the 
period  in  which  they  had  attained  their  greatest  per¬ 
fection  in  Judea. 

20.  The  Babylonians,  Assyrians,  and  Phoenicians, 


THE  SCULPTOR. 


23 


became  considerably  skilful  in  sculpture,  at  a  very 
early  period,  as  we  learn  from  early  history,  and 
some  existing  remains.  The  same  remark  is  also 
applicable  to  the  inhabitants  of  Hindostan.  But  wri¬ 
ters  have  been  more  particular  in  noticing  the  style 
of  design  among  the  Egyptians,  because  the  prog¬ 
ress  of  the  arts  among  that  people  is  more  easily 
traced,  and  because  it  is  supposed  to  elucidate  that  of 
most  other  ancient  nations. 

21.  The  chief  objects  of  sculpture,  among  the 
Egyptians,  were  pillars,  and  other  architectural  or¬ 
naments,  idols,  the  human  figure,  animals,  and  hiero¬ 
glyphics,  engraved  in  a  kind  of  bas-relief  on  public 
edifices,  and  the  forms  of  animals.  Most  of  the  great 
works  of  this  nation  are  supposed  to  have  been  exe¬ 
cuted  during  and  after  the  reign  of  Sesostris,  who 
lived  in  the  days  of  Rehoboam,  king  of  Israel,  or 
about  1000  years  before  the  Christian  era. 

22.  But  of  all  the  nations  of  antiquity,  the  Greeks 
were  the  most  distinguished  for  sculpture.  They  de¬ 
rived  the  first  rudiments  of  the  art  from  the  Phoeni¬ 
cians,  or  Egyptians,  although  they  assert  that  they 
themselves  were  its  inventors.  Its  existence,  in  a 
rude  state,  among  that  people,  preceded  that  of  let¬ 
ters  or  scientific  architecture. 

23.  Dcedalus,  who  lived  about  100  years  after  Mo¬ 
ses,  was  the  first  sculptor  among  the  Greeks,  of  any 
notoriety.  The  statues  made  before  his  time,  were 
stiff,  formal  figures,  having  the  arms  attached  to  the 
body,  and  the  legs  united,  like  the  mummy-shaped 
productions  of  Egyptian  art.  He  separated  the  legs 
of  his  statues,  and  placed  them,  and  the  upper  ex¬ 
tremities,  in  a  natural  position.  He  also  was  the  first 
sculptor  who  made  the  eyes  of  his  statues  open.  On 
account  of  these  improvements,  the  Greeks  said,  that 
his  divine  genius  made  statues  walk,  and  see,  and 
speak. 


24 


THE  SCULPTOR. 


24.  The  disciples  and  imitators  of  Daedalus  were 
called  his  sons,  and  artists,  generally,  Dcedalides . 
Soon  after  this  period,  schools  of  design  were  estab¬ 
lished  in  the  island  of  iEgina,  at  Corinth,  at  Sicyon, 
and  in  Etruria,  in  Italy :  but  it  seems  that  no  good 
representations  of  the  human  form  were  effected  un¬ 
til  near  the  time  of  Phidias,  who  was  born  444  years 
before  Christ. 

25.  This  most  distinguished  of  all  the  votaries  of 
sculpture,  flourished  at  or  near  the  same  time  with 
the  dramatic  poets,  iEschylus,  Euripides,  and  Sopho¬ 
cles  ;  the  philosophers,  Socrates,  Plato,  and  Anaxago¬ 
ras  ;  and  the  statesmen  and  commanders,  Pericles, 
Miltiades,  Themistocles,  Cimon,  and  Xenophon.  This 
was  the  most  refined  period  of  Grecian  history,  and 
of  all  others,  the  most  favorable  in  its  moral  and  po¬ 
litical  circumstances,  for  the  development  of  genius. 

26.  Phidias  was  the  author  of  the  ideal  style ,  which, 
in  the  fine  arts,  may  be  defined,  the  union  of  the  per¬ 
fections  of  any  class  of  figures.  Among  the  distin¬ 
guished  productions  of  this  artist,  the  colossal  statues 
of  Minerva  and  Jupiter  Olympius,  made  of  gold  and 
ivory,  have  excited  the  greatest  astonishment.  The 
former,  executed  for  the  Parthenon  of  Athens,  was 
twenty-six  cubits  in  height ;  and  the  latter,  for  a 
splendid  temple  at  Elis,  was  about  the  same  height, 
although  seated  upon  a  throne. 

27.  The  favorite  disciples  of  Phidias,  were  Alca- 
menes,  of  Attica,  and  Agoracritus,  of  Paros ;  and  at 
the  same  time  with  them,  flourished  Polycletus,  of  Ar¬ 
gos,  Miron,  of  Boeotia,  and  Pythagoras,  of  Rhegium. 
The  beautiful  style  soon  succeeded  to  the  ideal ;  the 
authors  of  which,  were  Praxiteles  and  Scopas,  who 
brought  the  art  to  the  highest  perfection, — since,  in 
their  productions,  they  united  beauty  and  grace.  Af¬ 
ter  the  days  of  these  two  artists,  sculpture  began  to 
decline ;  although  it  continued  to  be  practised  with 


THE  SCULPTOR.  25 

considerable  success,  for  some  centuries  after  this 
period. 

28.  The  great  superiority  of  the  Greeks  in  the  art 
of  sculpture,  is  ascribed  to  various  causes ;  among 
which  are  classed,  their  innate  love  of  beauty,  and 
their  own  elegance  of  form,  combined  with  the  fre¬ 
quent  opportunities  of  studying  the  human  figure,  in 
places  where  youth  were  in  the  habit  of  performing 
athletic  exercises  in  a  state  of  nudity.  To  these  may 
be  added,  the  practice  of  awarding  to  citizens  a  statue 
of  their  own  persons,  for  eminent  services  to  the 
state,  and  for  excelling  in  exercises  at  the  public 
games. 

29.  The  fine  arts  were  nearly  extinguished  in 
Greece,  by  the  conquest  of  the  Romans ;  who,  with 
ruthless  rapacity,  seized  upon,  and  transferred  to  their 
metropolis  and  villas,  the  superb  works  of  taste  with 
which  the  country  abounded.  By  these  means,  how¬ 
ever,  a  taste  for  the  arts  was  produced  among  the 
Romans,  who  encouraged  with  great  liberality  the 
Greek  artists  who  resorted’in  great  numbers  to  their 
city. 

30.  The  arts  at  length  declined  at  Rome,  and  finally 
became  nearly  extinct  in  that  city,  soon  after  Byzan¬ 
tium  was  made  the  capital  of  the  Roman  empire,  in 
329  of  the  Christian  era.  The  new  capitol  was  en¬ 
riched  by  the  most  valuable  statuary  of  the  old  me¬ 
tropolis,  and  by  a  farther  pillage  of  Greece.  Artists 
were  also  encouraged  with  a  munificence  similar  to 
that  of  former  times ;  and  many  new  subjects  in 
painting  and  sculpture,  in  illustration  of  the  Christian 
scriptures,  were  executed  as  embellishments  for  the 
sacred  buildings  of  the  city. 

31.  The  art  of  sculpture  necessarily  declined  du¬ 
ring  the  time  of  the  unsettled  state  of  Europe,  which 
followed  the  conquests  by  the  barbarous  nations.  It, 
however,  was  not  altogether  lost,  but  was  occasion- 

II.— C 


26 


THE  SCULPTOR. 


ally  practised,  although  in  a  very  rude  manner,  in 
several  kingdoms  of  Europe.  In  the  eleventh  cen¬ 
tury,  after  the  terrors  of  the  northern  invasions  had 
passed  away,  and  the  governments  had  become  more 
established,  the  arts  of  design  began  a  regular  course 
of  improvement,  which  has  been  denominated  their 
revival. 

32.  This  improvement  was  promoted  by  means  of 
the  frequent  intercourse  which  had  sprung  up  between 
the  commercial  cities  of  Italy  and  the  Greek  empire. 
In  1016,  the  Pisans  founded  their  great  church,  called 
the  Dome  of  Pisa ;  and,  in  its  construction,  they  em¬ 
ployed  many  noble  pillars  and  other  fragments  of 
Grecian  edifices.  They  also  engaged  upon  the  work 
several  Grecian  sculptors  and  painters,  who  exerted 
in  their  service  the  little  skill  which  had  come  down 
from  antiquity. 

33.  The  specimens  of  ancient  art  thus  introduced 
at  Pisa,  and  the  works  of  these  artists,  at  length  in¬ 
cited  several  Italians  to  emulation  ;  among  whom  was 
Nicolo  Pisano,  who  became  the  restorer  of  true  taste 
in  the  arts,  in  the  thirteenth  century.  At  this  period, 
the  crusades  had  diffused  such  a  zeal  for  the  Christian 
religion,  that  magnificent  churches  were  built  in  every 
part  of  Italy,  in  the  designing  of  which,  and  in  their 
decoration  with  sculpture,  Pisano  and  his  scholars 
were  universally  employed. 

34.  John  Pisano,  the  son  of  Nicolo,  was  also  an 
architect  and  sculptor  of  eminence ;  and  by  him  was 
built,  for  King  Charles,  a  castle,  and  several  church¬ 
es,  at  Naples.  He  also  executed  several  pieces  of 
sculpture,  and  superintended  the  construction  of  some 
edifices  in  Tuscany.  This  sculptor,  who  died  in  1320, 
had  several  pupils,  of  whom  Agostino  and  Agnolo 
Sanesi  were  the  best  sculptors  of  the  time. 

35.  In  1350,  an  academy  of  design  was  formed  at 
Florence  by  the  union  of  several  painters,  sculptors, 


THE  SCULPTOR. 


27 


and  architects.  This  institution  was  called  after  St. 
Luke,  whom  tradition  makes  a  painter  by  profession. 
The  society  was  afterwards  munificently  patronised 
by  the  Medici,  a  noble  and  wealthy  family  of  that  city. 

36.  From  this  school,  there  soon  proceeded  a  great 
number  of  skilful  artists,  among  whom  were  the 
sculptors  Lorenzo  Ghiberti,  Donatello,  and  Bruniles- 
chi ;  and  after  these,  others  perhaps  still  more  distin¬ 
guished,  until  it  produced  Michael  Angelo  Buonarotti, 
who,  as  a  universal  genius  in  the  arts  of  design,  has 
excelled  every  other  artist,  whether  ancient  or  modern. 

37.  This  great  man  was  born  in  Florence,  in  1474. 
His  father,  having  discovered  his  talent  for  designing, 
made  him  a  pupil  of  Dominic  Ghirlandaio,  who  in¬ 
structed  him  in  the  first  principles  of  the  art  of  draw¬ 
ing.  He  studied  statuary  under  Bartoldo ;  and,  in 
his  sixteenth  year,  copied  the  head  of  a  satyr  in  mar¬ 
ble,  to  the  admiration  of  all  connoisseurs.  On  account 
of  his  great  promise,  he  was  liberally  patronised  by 
Lorenzo  de  Medicis,  who,  besides  allowing  him  a 
pension,  gave  him  a  lodging  in  the  palace,  and  a  place 
at  his  table.  After  the  death  of  this  prince,  he  en¬ 
joyed  the  same  favors  from  his  son,  Pietro  de  Medicis. 

38.  His  reputation  as  an  artist  having  been  estab¬ 
lished  at  Florence,  he  was  called  to  Rome  by  Julius 
II.  From  this  time,  he  remained  chiefly  in  the  ser¬ 
vice  of  the  popes,  for  whom  he  executed  many  inimi¬ 
table  works,  both  of  sculpture  and  painting.  He  was 
also  an  architect  of  the  first  order ;  and,  as  such,  was 
employed  on  St.  Peter’s  Church,  as  well  as  on  several 
other  public  edifices.  He  died  in  1564,  at  an  ad¬ 
vanced  age. 

39.  Sculpture,  having  been  brought  to  as  high  a 
state  of  perfection  as  it  was  ever  likely  to  be  carried, 
began  to  decline  in  Italy,  as  it  had  done  before,  under 
similar  circumstances,  in  ancient  times ;  but  as  bar¬ 
barism  did  not  again  occur  to  overwhelm  it,  it  did  not 


28 


THE  SCULPTOR. 


entirely  disappear.  It  continued  to  be  practised,  al¬ 
though  in  a  very  inferior  degree,  until  it  was  again 
revived  by  Antonio  Canova,  near  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century. 

40.  The  French  nation,  from  its  vicinity  and  in¬ 
tercourse  with  Italy,  obtained  from  that  country  the 
means  of  improvement  in  every  branch  of  the  fine 
arts.  Accordingly,  native  artists  of  considerable 
merit  occasionally  appeared.  The  kings  of  France, 
also,  often  employed  Italian  architects  and  sculptors 
on  their  great  public  works.  In  the  reign  of  Francis 
I.,  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  and  two  other  artists  from 
Italy,  established  a  school  of  fine  arts  similar  to  that 
of  St.  Luke,  at  Florence ;  and  the  genius  of  the  peo¬ 
ple,  added  to  national  munificence,  have  kept  a  re¬ 
spectable  school  of  sculpture  to  the  present  time. 

41.  Considerable  ability  in  sculpture  has  likewise 
been  exhibited  by  native  artists  of  Spain,  Germany, 
Holland,  England,  and  some  other  countries  of  Eu¬ 
rope  ;  but  whatever  skill  has  been  displayed  in  any 
of  these  countries  has  been  derived,  in  an  indirect 
manner,  at  least,  from  Italy.  In  the  United  States, 
the  fine  arts  have  been  cultivated  with  considerable 
spirit.  An  academy  for  this  purpose  has  been  estab¬ 
lished  both  in  New-York  and  Philadelphia,  and  a  pic¬ 
ture  gallery  has  been  connected  with  the  Athenaeum 
in  Boston,  in  which  the  annual  exhibition  of  paintings 
is  respectable. 


X 


THE  PAINTER. 

1.  Painting  is  the  art  of  representing  visible  ob¬ 
jects,  by  means  of  lines  and  colors,  on  a  plane  sur¬ 
face,  so  as  to  produce  the  appearance  of  relief.  It  is 
justly  ranked  among  the  highest  of  that  class  of  arts 
denominated  fine,  or  liberal ;  and  its  tendencies  and 
powers  being  similar  to  those  of  poetry,  it  is  consid¬ 
ered  an  employment  worthy  of  men  of  the  most  ex¬ 
alted  rank. 

2.  The  theory  and  practice  of  this  ingenious  and 
delightful  art,  are  divided  by  its  professors  into  five 
distinct  branches, — invention,  composition ,  design,  chi¬ 
aroscuro,  and  coloring .  Invention  relates  to  the  choice 
of  subjects  to  be  introduced  into  a  picture.  It  is  this 
which  gives  the  highest  character  to  the  artist,  as  it 

C  2 


30 


THE  PAINTER. 


affords  the  greatest  opportunity  to  display  the  powers 
of  his  mind. 

3.  Composition  regards  the  general  distribution  and 
grouping  of  figures,  the  choice  of  attitudes,  the  dispo¬ 
sal  of  draperies,  the  situation  of  the  scene  itself,  as 
well  as  the  arrangement  and  connexion  of  the  various 
parts  of  the  scenery.  Invention  and  composition  are 
employed  particularly  in  the  first  rough  sketch  of  a 
picture. 

4.  Design  refers  to  the  expression  of  a  proposed 
picture  in  simple  contour,  or  outlines.  It  is  applied 
in  making  the  first  rough  sketch  of  the  picture,  wheth¬ 
er  in  miniature  or  in  its  full  size,  as  well  as  in  the 
more  accurate  expression  of  the  form  of  the  figures, 
in  its  final  finish.  The  artist,  in  making  his  design, 
is  guided  in  drawing  his  lines  by  the  rules  of  perspect¬ 
ive,  according  to  which  he  is  able  to  foreshorten  ob¬ 
jects,  and  thereby  diminish  the  space  which  they  oc¬ 
cupy,  without  giving  them  the  appearance  of  dimin. 
ished  magnitude. 

5.  Perspective  has  been  defined  the  art  of  deline¬ 
ating  the  outlines  of  objects  on  any  given  surface,  as 
they  would  appear  to  the  eye,  if  that  surface  were 
transparent,  and  the  objects  themselves  were  seen 
through  it,  from  a  fixed  position.  For  example ; 
when  we  look  through  a  window  at  a  mass  of  build¬ 
ings,  and  observe  that  part  of  the  glass  to  which  each 
object,  line,  or  point  appears  opposite,  we  find  thai 
their  apparent  position  is  very  different  from  their 
real.  A  delineation  of  these  objects  on  the  glass,  as 
they  appear,  would  be  termed  a  representation  in 
perspective. 

6.  Correct  perspective  is  the  foundation  of  scien¬ 
tific  painting ;  and,  next  in  importance  to  this,  is  a 
proper  distribution  of  light  and  shade.  This  branch 
of  the  art  is  called  chiaro-obscuro ,  or,  when  abridged, 
chiaro-scuro.  The  term  is  Italian  in  its  origin,  and 


THE  PAINTER. 


31 


its  literal  meaning  is  clear  and  obscure .  To  the  skil¬ 
ful  management  of  light  and  shade,  we  are  indebted 
for  the  strength  and  liveliness  of  pictures,  and  their 
relief,  or  the  elevation  which  certain  parts  appear  to 
assume  above  the  plane  upon  which  the  objects  are 
represented. 

7.  By  the  aid  of  perspective  and  chiaro-scuro,  very 
good  representations  in  one  color  are  attained.  Draw¬ 
ings  in  India-ink  and  crayons,  as  well  as  pictures  ta¬ 
ken  from  engraved  plates  and  wood-cuts,  are  speci¬ 
mens  of  such  productions.  But  a  nearer  approach  to 
the  appearance  of  nature,  is  made  by  the  employment 
of  colors  analogous  to  those  which  are  found  to  exist 
in  the  objects  to  be  represented. 

8.  To  produce  various  hues  in  painting,  the  artist 
employs  coloring  substances,  which,  either  alone  or 
by  mixture,  are  analogous  to  them  all ;  and,  in  their 
use,  he  is  careful  to  apply  them  in  such  a  manner, 
that  the  true  colors  remain  distinct  from  the  lights 
and  shades  necessary  to  produce  the  objects  in  relief. 
Artificial  colors  are  divided  into  warm  and  cold.  The 
former  are  those  in  which  red  and  yellow  predom¬ 
inate  ;  the  latter  are  blue,  gray,  and  others  allied  to 
them. 

9.  Before  coloring  substances  can  be  applied  in 
painting,  they  must  be  reduced  to  extreme  fineness, 
and  be  mixed  with  some  tenacious  fluid,  to  cause 
them  to  adhere  to  the  surface  on  which  they  are  to 
be  spread.  The  fluid  employed  for  this  purpose,  and 
the  mode  of  applying  the  colors,  have  given  rise  to 
the  different  kinds  of  painting,  of  which  the  following 
are  the  principal :  crayon,  water-color,  distemper, fres¬ 
co,  and  oil-painting. 

10.  The  most  simple  mode  of  applying  the  colors 
is  by  means  of  crayons.  They  are  made  of  black 
lead,  a  species  of  chalk,  or  of  a  mixture  of  coloring 
matter  with  gum,  size,  or  clay.  For  painting  in  wa - 


32 


THE  PAINTER. 


ter-colors,  the  substances  employed  in  communicating 
the  tints  are  combined  with  gum,  and  formed  into 
cakes  or  lozenges.  When  about  to  be  used,  they  are 
dissolved  in  water,  on  glass  or  a  glazed  surface.  The 
application  in  painting,  is  made  by  means  of  a  cam- 
el’s-hair  pencil. 

11.  Painting  in  distemper  is  used  for  the  execution 
of  works  on  a  large  scale,  such  as  stage  scenery,  and 
the  walls  of  apartments.  The  coloring  substances 
are  mixed  with  water,  rendered  tenacious  by  size  or 
solutions  of  glue,  or  by  skimmed  milk,  increased  in 
tenacity  by  a  small  quantity  of  thyme.  Linseed  or 
poppy  oil  often  serves  as  a  vehicle  for  the  colors,  in 
this  kind  of  painting. 

12.  Paintings  in  fresco  are  executed  on  walls  of 
plaster.  The  coloring  matter  mixed  with  water,  being 
applied  to  the  plaster  while  the  latter  is  in  a  fresh 
state,  sinks  in,  and  incorporates  itself  with  it,  so  as 
to  become  very  durable.  During  the  execution  of 
the  work,  the  plaster  is  applied  to  the  wall  in  success¬ 
ive  portions,  no  more  being  added  at  a  time,  than 
can  be  conveniently  painted  before  it  becomes  dry. 
Works  of  this  kind  must  be  executed  with  great  ra¬ 
pidity  ;  and,  on  this  account,  patterns,  called  cartoons , 
are  previously  drawn  on  large  paper,  to  guide  the 
artist  in  his  operations. 

13.  Oil  painting  derives  its  name  from  the  mixture 
of  the  colors  in  oil.  The  oils  used  for  this  purpose 
are  extracted  from  vegetables  ;  and,  on  account  of 
the  rapidity  with  which  they  dry,  are  denominated 
ydrying  oils.  For  most  purposes,  this  mode  of  paint¬ 
ing  is  decidedly  superior  to  all  others.  It  admits  of 
a  higher  finish,  as  it  allows  the  artist  to  retouch  his 
works  with  greater  precision.  The  colors  also  blend 
together  more  agreeably,  and  produce  a  more  delicate 
effect.  Oil  paintings  are  executed  on  canvas,  wood, 
or  copper. 


THE  PAINTER. 


33 


14.  Paintings  are  imitated  with  surprising  elegance, 
by  cementing  together  colored  pieces  of  glass  and 
marble,  as  well  as  those  of  wood.  Representations 
by  these  means,  are  called  Mosaics,  or  Mosaic  paint¬ 
ings.  The  cause  of  their  having  received  this  appel¬ 
lation  cannot  be  ascertained.  Some,  without  much 
reason,  attribute  the  origin  and  name  of  this  branch 
of  the  art  to  Moses.  Others  suppose  that  works  of 
this  kind  have  been  thus  denominated,  because  they 
were  first  employed  in  grottoes  dedicated  to  the 
Muses. 

15.  Drawings  and  paintings  are  divided  into  class¬ 
es,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  objects  represented, 
the  principal  of  which  are  historical,  architectural, 
landscape,  marine,  portrait,  still  life,  grotesque,  botan¬ 
ical,  and  animal.  The  subordinate  divisions  of  these 
branches  are  very  numerous. 

16.  The  propensity  to  imitation,  so  deeply  rooted 
in  the  human  mind,  is  the  foundation  of  the  arts  of 
design  ;  and  there  can  scarcely  be  indicated  a  length¬ 
ened  period  in  the  history  of  man,  in  which  it  was 
entirely  inactive.  It  may  have  first  been  accidentally 
exhibited  in  tracing  the  form  of  some  object  in  the 
sand  ;  or  resemblances  in  sticks  and  stones,  may  have 
originally  suggested  the  idea  of  imitations  by  means 
of  lines  and  colors.  ^ 

17.  Although  painting  and  sculpture  may  be  sup¬ 
posed  to  have  existed,  at  least  in  a  rude  state,  at  a 
very  early  period,  and  even  before  the  deluge,  yet  the 
reign  of  Semiramis,  queen  of  Assyria,  2000  years 
before  Christ,  is  the  earliest  to  which  authentic  his¬ 
tory  extends.  Diodorus  Siculus  relates  that  the 
queen,  having  thrown  a  bridge  across  the  Euphrates, 
at  Babylon,  erected  a  castle  at  each  end  of  it,  and  in¬ 
closed  them  with  walls  of  considerable  height,  with 
towers  upon  them.  The  bricks  of  which  they  were 
constructed,  were  painted  before  they  underwent  the 


34 


THE  PAINTER. 


fire,  and  were  so  put  together,  that  single  figures,  and 
even  groups  of  them,  were  represented  in  colors. 

18.  This  author  supposes  also,  that  the  arts  had 
attained  nearly  an  equal  degree  of  cultivation  about 
the  same  time  in  Egypt,  sculpture,  as  best  serving 
idolatrous  purposes,  being  in  both  countries  much  in 
advance  of  the  sister  art  of  painting.  But,  in  neither 
country,  was  painting  or  sculpture  brought  to  a  great 
degree  of  perfection. 

19.  In  Egypt,  independent  selection  of  objects,  and 
variety  of  exhibition,  never  appear  to  have  been  much 
regarded.  When  a  specific  form  of  character  had 
been  once  adopted,  so  it  remained,  and  was  repeated 
unchanged  for  ages.  Little  action,  and  no  expression, 
was  given  to  figures.  The  chief  employment  of  the 
Egyptian  artists,  seems  to  have  been  the  painting  of 
the  chests  of  mummies,  and  the  ornaments  on  barges 
and  earthenware. 

20.  Painting,  in  the  early  days  of  its  existence, 
was  employed  chiefly  in  the  exhibition  and  preserva¬ 
tion  of  historical  facts  ;  and,  wherever  it  remained 
faithful  to  these  objects,  it  was  obliged  to  sacrifice  the 
beautiful  to  the  significant.  Only  in  those  countries 
where  alphabetical  writing  existed,  could  painting  ele¬ 
vate  itself  to  a  fine  art. 

21.  The  Pelasgi,  who  expelled  or  subdued  the  ear 
lier  inhabitants  of  Greece,  and  colonized  that  country, 
probably  brought  with  them  the  rudiments  of  this  art ; 
and  it  at  length  grew  up  with  its  sister  arts.  In  some 
of  the  stages  of  its  progress,  this  intelligent  people, 
no  doubt,  received  useful  hints  from  other  countries, 
and  especially  from  Egypt ;  yet  they  finally  surpassed 
all  the  nations  of  antiquity  in  this  branch  of  art. 

22.  The  Greeks,  with  singular  care,  have  preserved 
the  names  of  their  artists  from  the  earliest  periods  of 
their  practice.  Ardens,  of  Corinth,  Telephanes  and 
Crato,  of  Sycion,  and  some  others,  are  noticed  as 


7 


THEPAINTER.  35 

such,  when  painting  had  advanced  no  farther  than  the 
mere  circumscription  of  shadows  by  single  lines. 

23.  The  different  kinds  of  painting,  as  marked  by 
the  successive  stages  of  the  art  among  the  Greeks, 
are  as  follows ;  1.  The  skiagram ,  or  drawing  in  sim¬ 
ple  outlines,  as  in  the  circumscriptions  of  shadows. 
2.  The  monogram ,  including  both  the  outlines  and 
others  within  them.  3.  The  monochrom ,  or  picture 
in  a  single  color.  4.  The  jpolyclirom ,  or  picture  of 
many  colors. 

24.  Although  the  names  of  the  Grecian  artists 
were  carefully  preserved,  the  time  in  which  they 
lived  was  not  distinctly  marked  until  the  16th  Olym¬ 
piad,  or  719  years  before  the  commencement  of  our 
era.  At  this  time,  Candaules,  king  of  Lydia,  pur¬ 
chased  a  picture  called  the  Battle  of  the  Magnetes, 
for  which  he  paid  its  weight  in  gold,  although  painted 
on  boards.  The  name  of  the  fortunate  artist  was 
Bularchus. 

25.  Notwithstanding  the  fame  of  this  picture,  Ag- 
laophon  and  Polygnotus,  of  Thasos,  who  flourished 
300  years  after  this  period,  were  the  first  eminent 
painters.  Polygnotus  is  said  to  have  been  the  first 
who  gave  a  pleasing  air  to  the  draperies  and  head¬ 
dresses  of  females,  and  to  have  opened  the  mouth  so 
far  as  to  exhibit  the  beauty  of  the  teeth. 

26.  Still,  painting  is  considered  to  have  been  in  an 
inferior  state,  until  the  appearance  of  Timanthes, 
Parrhasius,  and  Zeuxis,  who  flourished  about  375 
years  before  Christ.  These  again  were  surpassed  by 
their  successors,  Protogenes,  Pamphilus,  Melanthius, 
Antiphilus,  Theon,  Euphranor,  Apelles,  and  Aristides, 
who  carried  the  art  to  the  greatest  perfection  to  which 
it  attained  in  ancient  times. 

27.  Of  the  preceding  list  of  artists,  Apelles  was 
the  most  famous,  especially  as  a  portrait  painter.  He 
was  the  intimate  friend  of  Alexander  the  Great,  who 


36 


THE  PAINTER. 


would  never  permit  any  other  person  to  paint  his 
likeness.  His  most  celebrated  painting,  was  this 
prince  holding  the  lightning  with  which  the  picture  is 
chiefly  illuminated.  By  a  happy  application  of  per¬ 
spective  and  chiaro-scuro,  the  hand  with  the  lightning 
seemed  to  project  from  the  picture. 

28.  From  the  time  of  these  great  masters,  painting 
gradually  declined,  although  the  art  continued  to  be 
practised  by  a  succession  of  eminent  men,  who  con¬ 
tended  against  the  blighting  influence  of  the  luxury 
and  the  internal  broils  of  their  countrymen.  But 
soon  after  Greece  became  subject  to  the  Roman  pow¬ 
er,  the  practice  of  the  fine  arts  nearly  ceased  in  that 
country. 

29.  Before  the  foundation  of  Rome,  the  arts  were 
cultivated,  to  some  extent,  in  Etruria  and  Calabria ; 
but  the  first  Roman  painter  mentioned  in  history,  was 
Fabius,  a  noble  patrician,  who  painted,  in  the  year  of 
the  city  450,  the  temple  of  the  goddess  Sal  us,  and 
thereby  obtained  for  himself  and  family  the  surname 
of  Pictor.  Yet  the  citizens  do  not  seem  to  have 
profited  by  this  example ;  for  no  other  painter  ap¬ 
peared  among  them  until  150  years  after  that  period. 
At  this  time,  Pacuvius,  the  poet,  amused  himself,  in 
the  decline  of  life,  with  painting  the  temple  of  Her¬ 
cules. 

30.  They  were  thus  inattentive  to  the  cultivation 
of  this,  as  well  as  of  the  other  fine  arts,  because  they 
considered  warfare,  and  the  arts  which  tended  direct¬ 
ly  to  support  this  interest,  as  alone  worthy  of  the  at¬ 
tention  of  a  citizen  of  their  republic  ;  and  painting, 

■  even  after  the  time  of  Pacuvius,  was  considered  ef¬ 
feminate  and  disgraceful.  Rome,  therefore,  cannot 
be  said,  at  any  time,  to  have  produced  a  single  artist 
who  could  approach  the  excellences  of  those  of  its 
refined  neighbors,  the  Greeks. 

31.  They,  however,  having  ornamented  their  me- 


THE  PAINTER. 


37 


tropolis  and  villas  with  specimens  of  the  arts  plunder¬ 
ed  from  the  cities  of  Greece  and  Sicily,  began,  at 
length,  to  appreciate  their  excellences  ;  and  finally, 
under  the  first  emperors,  they  encouraged,  with  great 
munificence,  the  Greeks  who  resorted  to  their  city 
for  employment. 

32.  But,  both  sculpture  and  painting,  as  well  as  ar¬ 
chitecture,  declined  with  Roman  civilization.  Still, 
they  continued  to  exist,  especially  in  the  Byzantine  or 
Eastern  empire,  although  in  a  very  inferior  state. 
The  art  under  consideration  was  preserved  chiefly  by 
its  application  to  the  purposes  of  Christianity.  It 
was  revived  in  Italy,  in  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth 
century,  by  means  of  several  Grecian  artists,  who 
had  been  employed  to  ornament  the  churches,  and 
other  edifices  at  Pisa,  Venice,  and  Florence. 

33.  The  works  of  Apollonius,  one  of  these  Greeks, 
excited  in  Giovanni  Cimabue  a  spirit  of  emulation  ; 
and,  having  been  initiated  into  the  practice  of  the  art, 
he  executed  a  picture  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  as  large  as 
life,  for  a  church  dedicated  to  her,  at  Florence.  This 
production  excited  enthusiastic  delight  in  his  fellow- 
citizens,  who  carried  it  in  procession,  with  the  sound 
of  trumpets,  to  its  place  of  destination,  and  celebrated 
the  day  as  a  public  feast. 

34.  Encouraged  by  this  applause,  Cimabue  pur¬ 
sued  the  art  with  ardor  ;  and,  although  considered  a 
prodigy  in  his  time,  his  utmost  efforts  failed  to  pro¬ 
duce  tolerable  specimens  of  the  art.  He,  however, 
far  excelled  his  immediate  predecessors  ;  and,  by  in¬ 
troducing  more  correct  proportions,  by  giving  more 
life  and  expression  to  his  figures,  and  by  some  other 
improvements,  he  became  the  founder  of  the  art  as  it 
exists  in  modern  times.  He  was  born  at  Florence, 
in  1240,  and  died  at  the  age  of  sixty. 

35.  The  favorite  pupil  of  Cimabue,  was  Giotto, 
whom  he  raised  from  a  shepherd  to  be  a  painter  ;  and 

II* — D 


38 


THE  PAINTER. 


by  him  the  art  was  still  more  relieved  from  the  Greek 
imperfections.  He  abandoned  the  use  of  labels  as 
means  of  distinguishing  the  different  figures  of  a  pic¬ 
ture,  and  aimed  at,  and  attained  to,  real  expression. 
He  marked  out  to  the  Italians  the  course  in  which 
the  art  should  be  pursued,  as  Polygnotus  had  done  to 
the  Greeks  near  1800  years  before ;  although,  like 
him,  he  failed  in  fully  exemplifying  his  principles. 

36.  His  abilities  procured  him  the  patronage  of 
Pope  Boniface  "VIII.,  who  employed  him  at  Rome. 
From  this  time,  the  art  of  painting  became  attached 
to  the  papal  dignity,  and  few  succeeding  pontiffs  have 
neglected  its  use.  The  skill  and  celebrity  of  this  in¬ 
genious  artist  excited  great  emulation,  and  the  arts 
having  obtained  an  earnest  of  profit  and  honor,  no 
longer  wanted  skilful  professors  or  illustrious  patrons. 

37.  In  1350,  fourteen  years  after  the  death  of  Gi¬ 
otto,  his  disciple,  Jacopo  Cassentino,  and  nine  other 
artists,  founded  the  Academy  of  St.  Luke,  at  Flor¬ 
ence.  This  was  a  grand  epoch  of  the  arts  ;  as  from 
this  institution  arose  a  large  display  of  talent,  increas¬ 
ing  in  splendor  until,  within  150  years,  it  gave  to  the 
world,  Masaccio,  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Michael  Ange¬ 
lo  Buonarotti,  and  Raphael,  besides  others  of  great 
ability. 

38.  The  art  advanced  but  little  after  the  time  of 
Giotto,  until  the  appearance  of  Masaccio.  Under  the 
hand  of  this  great  master,  painting  is  said  to  have 
been  greatly  improved ;  and  it  was  to  him,  that  the 
artists  who  succeeded  were  indebted  for  a  more  sure 
and  full  direction  of  the  course  in  which  they  ought  to 
proceed.  He  was  born  in  1402,  and  died  in  1443. 

39.  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  who  was  born  about  two 
years  after  the  death  of  Masaccio,  brought  the  art  to 
still  greater  perfection  ;  and  being  endowed  with  un¬ 
common  genius,  all  the  arts  and  sciences  did  not  seem 
to  afford  a  field  sufficient  for  the  exertion  of  his  tal- 


THE  PAINTER. 


39 


ents.  He  grasped  at  all,  and  succeeded  far  better 
than  his  predecessors  in  everything  he  undertook  ; 
but  he  wasted  much  of  his  time  in  experiments.  Had 
he  confined  his  great  powers  to  the  art  of  painting, 
he  would  probably  have  never  been  exceeded. 

40.  About  the  year  1410,  oil  came  to  be  used  as 
a  vehicle  for  paints.  It  seems  to  have  been  first  ap¬ 
plied  to  this  purpose  in  Flanders,  by  John  Van  Eyck, 
of  Brussels  ;  or  it  was,  at  least,  first  used  by  him 
successfully.  The  first  hint  of  its  utility  in  this  ap¬ 
plication  is  thought,  with  reason,  to  have  been  obtain¬ 
ed  from  its  use  as  a  varnish  to  pictures  painted  in 
water-colors. 

41.  The  art  of  painting  was  introduced  into  Flan¬ 
ders  about  the  time  of  Giotto,  by  several  Flemings, 
who  had  been  to  Italy  for  the  express  purpose  of  learn¬ 
ing  it.  It  was  also  diffused  in  practice,  about  the 
same  time,  in  Germany  ;  and  a  particular  style  of  the 
art  grew  up  in  each  of  these  countries.  But  it  was 
in  Italy  alone  that  the  art  may  be  said  to  have  flour¬ 
ished  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation  ;  and  even  there, 
the  principal  productions  originated  from  artists  of 
the  Florentine  school. 

42.  The  art  of  painting  was  perfected,  perhaps,  as 
far  as  human  ability  can  carry  it,  in  the  first  half  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  by  Michael  Angelo  Buonarotti, 
Raphael,  Titian,  and  Correggio  ;  although  it  cannot  . 
be  said  that  all  its  excellences  were  united  in  the 
productions  of  any  one  of  these  distinguished  profes- 
ors.  Such  a  union  has  never  yet  been  displayed,  nor 
can  it  hardly  be  expected. 

43.  The  art  was  essentially  aided  in  its  progres¬ 
sive  stages  of  advancement  by  the  liberal  patronage 
of  the  family  of  the  Medici,  at  Florence,  and  by  the 
pontiffs,  at  Rome.  Angelo  and  Raphael  were  both 
employed  at  Rome  by  Julius  II.  and  Leo  X.,  as  well 
as  by  others  who  succeeded  them  in  the  papal  chair, 


40 


THE  PAINTER. 


in  ornamenting  the  palaces  and  sacred  buildings. 
Their  productions  have  never  been  exceeded  in  any 
country,  and  they  still  remain  the  objects  of  careful 
study  by  artists  of  this  profession. 

44.  Titian  was  also  liberally  patronised  at  Rome, 
and  in  other  parts  of  Italy,  as  well  as  in  Spain  and 
Germany,  chiefly  as  a  portrait  and  landscape  painter. 
The  unrivalled  productions  of  these  great  masters, 
however,  were  fatal  to  the  art  in  Italy,  since  their  su¬ 
perior  excellence  extinguished  emulation,  by  destroy¬ 
ing  the  prospect  of  equal  or  superior  success. 

45.  The  flourishing  state  of  the  art  in  Italy,  for  so 
long  a  period,  might  be  expected  to  have  produced  a 
taste  for  its  cultivation  in  other  parts  of  Europe ;  but 
this  was  the  case  only  to  a  limited  extent.  No  other 
countries  have  yet  been  particularly  distinguished  for 
artists  in  this  branch  of  the  fine  arts,  except  Flanders 
and  Holland ;  and  these  were  chiefly  indebted  for  the 
distinction  to  Peter  Paul  Rubens,  of  Antwerp,  who 
was  born  at  Cologne,  in  1577,  and  to  Paul  Van  Rhyn 
Rembrandt,  who  was  born  in  1606,  in  his  father’s  mill, 
near  Leyden.  Some  of  the  scholars  of  these  masters 
were  eminent  painters.  Anthony  Vandyck,  a  pupil 
of  the  former,  in  particular,  is  said  to  have  never  yet 
been  equalled  as  a  portrait-painter. 

46.  Very  little  is  known  of  the  art  in  Spain,  until 
about  the  year  1500,  although  it  is  supposed  to  have 
been  cultivated  with  some  success  before  that  time. 
The  examples  which  were  left  there  by  Titian  pro¬ 
duced  a  favorable  impression,  and  several  native  ar¬ 
tists  of  considerable  eminence  afterwards  appeared ; 
but  the  art  became  nearly  extinct  in  the  following 
age. 

47.  The  proximity  of  France  to  Italy,  and  the  em¬ 
ployment  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci  and  other  eminent 
artists  of  Italy  by  Francis  I.,  together  with  the  estab¬ 
lishment  of  a  school  of  fine  arts,  as  stated  in  the  pre- 


THE  PAINTER. 


41 


ceding  article,  might  have  been  expected  to  lay  the 
foundation  of  exalted  taste  in  this  kingdom.  Never¬ 
theless,  the  only  French  painters  whose  names  have 
come  down  to  us  with  any  pretensions  to  excellence 
for  one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  were  Jean  Cousin, 
Jaques  Blanchard,  Nicholas  Poussin,  and  Charles  Le 
Brun.  The  last,  although  inferior  to  Poussin,  is  at 
the  head  of  the  French  school  of  painting. 

48.  The  successors  of  Le  Brun  were  not  wanting 
in  ability,  yet,  with  a  few  exceptions,  they  failed  in 
reaching  an  enviable  eminence  in  the  art,  on  account 
of  their  servile  imitation  of  the  false  taste  of  their 
popular  model.  The  fantastic  style  of  Le  Brun  be¬ 
came  unpopular  in  France  some  time  previous  to  the 
revolution  in  that  country ;  and  another,  of  an  oppo¬ 
site  character,  and  by  artists  of  other  nations  thought 
to  be  equally  distant  from  true  taste,  has  been  since 
adopted. 

49.  Very  little  is  known  of  the  state  of  the  fine 
arts  in  England  until  the  time  of  Henry  VIII.,  who 
encouraged  the  abilities  of  Hans  Holbein,  an  eminent 
painter  from  Switzerland.  But  painting  and  sculp¬ 
ture,  and  particularly  the  former,  having  become  inti¬ 
mately  interwoven  with  the  religion  of  the  Church  of 
Rome,  fell  into  disrepute  in  England  after  the  change 
of  opinion  on  this  subject  in  that  country.  They, 
however,  began  to  revive  in  the  eighteenth  century, 
and  England  and  English  America  have  since  pro¬ 
duced  some  eminent  painters,  among  whom  are  Ho¬ 
garth,  Reynolds,  Opie,  West,  Copley,  Trumbull,  and 
Peale. 

D  2 


THE  ENGRAVER. 

Engraving  is  the  art  of  cutting  letters  or  figures 
in  wood,  metals,  or  stone.  It  was  practised  in  very 
ancient  times,  and  in  different  countries,  for  the  pur¬ 
poses  of  ornament  and  monumental  inscription  ;  but 
the  idea  of  taking  impressions  on  paper,  or  on  any 
other  substance,  from  engraved  surfaces,  is  compara¬ 
tively  modern. 

THE  WOOD  ENGRAVER. 

1.  The  Chinese  are  said  to  have  been,  the  first  who 
engraved  figures  or  letters  on  wood,  for  the  purpose 
of  printing.  The  precise  time  at  which  they  com¬ 
menced  the  practice,  is  totally  unknown  ;  but  a  book 
printed  by  them  in  the  tenth  century,  is  now  extant. 
It  is  thought  by  some  antiquarians,  that  the  Euro- 


THE  ENGRAVER. 


43 


peans  derived  the  art  from  the  Chinese,  through  the 
Yenitians,  who  traded  in  that  part  of  the  world  ear¬ 
lier  than  any  other  Europeans. 

2.  This  opinion  is  somewhat  probable,  from  the 
circumstance  that  the  tools  employed  by  the  early  en¬ 
gravers  in  Europe,  are  similar  to  those  used  in  China  ; 
and  also,  like  the  Chinese,  they  engraved  on  the  side 
of  the  grain.  However  this  may  be,  it  is  certain  that 
the  art  was  practised  in  various  parts  of  Europe  in 
the  fourteenth  century.  The  earliest  subjects  exe¬ 
cuted,  were  figures  of  saints,  rudely  engraved  in  out¬ 
line.  The  prints  taken  from  them  were  gaily  color¬ 
ed,  and  sold  to  the  common  people  as  original  paint¬ 
ings.  The  principal  persons  engaged  in  this  traffic 
were  monks,  to  whom  the  art  was  confined  for  a  con¬ 
siderable  time. 

3.  At  length,  larger  subjects,  with  inscriptions  in 
imitation  of  manuscript,  were  executed.  The  suc¬ 
cess  of  these  prints  gave  rise  to  a  more  extensive  ap¬ 
plication  of  the  art.  Scriptural  subjects,  of  many 
figures,  with  texts  of  scripture,  were  engraved,  and 
impressions  were  taken  from  them  on  one  side  of  the 
paper,  two  sheets  being  pasted  together  to  form  a  leaf. 
Entire  sets  were  bound  up  together,  and  thus  were 
formed  the  first  printed  books,  which,  being  produced 
entirely  from  wood-cuts,  are  known  by  the  name  of 
block-books.  These  books  made  their  appearance 
about  the  year  1420. 

4.  One  of  the  earliest  of  these  productions  is  de¬ 
nominated  “  The  Apocalypse  of  St.  John  another, 
“  The  Poor  Man’s  Bible.”  But  one  of  the  latest  and 
most  celebrated,  is  called  “The  Mirror  of  Salvation,” 
published  in  1440.  Part  of  the  text  was  printed  from 
solid  blocks,  and  part,  from  moveable  wooden  types. 
From  this  fact,  it  is  easy  to  discover  the  origin  of 
printing.  After  this,  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  books, 
were  printed  from  moveable  types ;  but,  as  they  were 


44 


THE  ENGRAVER. 


embellished  with  wood  cuts,  the  demand  for  such  en¬ 
gravings  was  very  much  increased,  although  they 
were,  at  first,  by  no  means  elegant. 

5.  Near  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  the  art 
began  to  assume  a  higher  character,  principally  by 
the  talents  of  Michael  Wolgermuth  and  William  Pluy- 
denwurf.  Albert  Durer  made  still  greater  improve¬ 
ments,  and,  in  1498,  published  his  celebrated  Apoca¬ 
lypse  of  St.  John,  printed  from  folio  blocks.  Other 
celebrated  engravers  succeeded  him  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  which  may  be  considered  the  era  when  wood 
engraving  was  at  its  highest  point  of  elevation.  After 
this,  the  art  declined,  and  was  considered  of  little  im¬ 
portance,  until  it  was  revived  in  1775,  by  the  distin¬ 
guished  William  Bewick,  of  Newcastle,  England. 
It  is  still  practised,  especially  in  England  and  the 
United  States,  in  a  manner  which  reflects  credit  on 
the  ingenuity  of  the  age. 

6.  The  earlier  artists  operated  on  various  kinds  of 
wood,  such  as  the  apple,  pear,  and  beech ;  but  these, 
being  too  soft,  are  now  used  only  for  calico-printing 
and  other  common  purposes.  Box-wood,  on  account 
of  its  superior  texture,  is  used  for  every  subject  that 
can  be  termed  a  work  of  art.  That  from  Turkey  is 
the  best. 

7.  The  engravers,  in  the  infancy  of  the  art,  pre¬ 
pared  the  wood  as  the  common  block-cutters  now  do. 
The  tree  was  cut  the  way  of  the  grain,  in  planks,  and 
of  course  they  engraved  on  the  side  of  the  grain,  as 
upon  a  board.  This  mode  of  preparation  enabled 
them  to  execute  larger  subjects.  The  engravers  now 
prefer  the  end  of  the  grain,  and  therefore  cut  the  log 
transversely. 

8.  The  end  on  which  the  engraver  is  to  exert  his 
skill,  is  planed  and  scraped,  to  render  the  surface 
smooth,  and  the  block  having  been  cut  to  the  proper 
size,  the  drawing  is  made  upon  it  in  India  ink,  or  with 


THE  ENGRAVER. 


45 


a  lead-pencil.  The  block  is  now  ready  for  the  artist, 
who,  in  executing  the  work,  holds  it  with  one  hand, 
on  a  cushion  made  of  sand  and  leather,  while,  with 
the  other,  he  cuts  away  the  superfluous  wood.  The 
part  intended  to  make  the  impression  in  printing,  is 
left  standing. 

9.  Wood  engravings,  well  executed,  are  scarcely 
inferior  to  those  of  copper  and  steel,  and,  for  many 
purposes,  they  are  preferred.  They  are  remarkably 
convenient,  since  they  can  be  inserted  into  a  page  of 
types,  where  illustrations  or  embellishments  may  be 
required,  and  be  printed  without  separate  expense. 
They  will  also  bear  a  great  number  of  impressions— 
generally  100,000.  In  this  respect,  they  are  deci¬ 
dedly  superior  to  metallic  plates.  They  can  likewise 
be  multiplied  indefinitely  by  the  process  of  stereo¬ 
typing. 

THE  COPPERPLATE  ENGRAVER. 

1.  The  engravers  on  metallic  surfaces  are  termed 
copperplate  engravers,  not  because  copper  is  the  only 
metal  on  which  they  exert  their  skill,  but  because  it 
is  the  one  on  which  they  usually  operate.  The  plates 
are  prepared  for  the  artist  by  the  coppersmith,  by  rub¬ 
bing  them  with  brickdust  and  charcoal,  after  having 
cut  them  of  a  proper  size  from  sheets  of  copper. 

2.  The  instruments  employed  by  this  artist  are  few 
and  simple,  the  principal  of  which  are,  the  graver ,  the 
dry-point,  the  scraper,  and  the  burnisher.  The  graver 
is  a  small  bar  of  steel,  of  a  square  or  lozenge  form, 
and,  with  the  short  handle  into  which  it  is  inserted, 
about  five  inches  in  length.  One  of  the  angles  of  the 
bar  is  always  on  the  under  side  of  the  instrument,  and 
the  point  is  formed  by  bevelling  the  end  from  the  up¬ 
per  side,  or  angle.  The  square  form  is  used  for 
broad  strokes,  and  the  lozenge  for  fine  ones. 

3.  The  dry  point,  or  needle,  is  a  steel  wire  with  a 


46 


THE  ENGRAVER. 


long  cylindrical  handle  ;  or  it  is  simply  a  wire  of  suf¬ 
ficient  length  and  size  to  be  used  without  a  handle. 
The  scraper  has  nearly  the  form  of  a  triangular  pyr¬ 
amid  ;  and  the  cutting  part,  which  has  three  edges,  is 
two  or  three  inches  long.  The  burnisher  has  a  form 
nearly  conical,  and,  without  the  handle,  is  about  three 
inches  long.  The  last  two  instruments  are  frequently 
made  of  the  same  piece  of  steel,  properly  forged  at 
each  end.  In  such  case,  the  middle  part  of  the  steel 
is  the  handle  by  which  they  are  held. 

4.  Of  engraving  on  copper,  the  following  are  the 
principal  varieties  or  styles:  1.  Line  engraving;  2. 
Stippling  ;  3.  Etching ;  4.  Mezzotinto  ;  5.  Aquatinta. 
For  the  purpose  of  conveying  some  idea  of  these  dif¬ 
ferent  branches,  we  will  describe  them  under  distinct 
heads. 

5.  Line  engraving .  The  first  thing  done,  in  this 
species  of  engraving,  is  to  transfer  to  the  plate  an  ex¬ 
act  copy  of  the  outlines  of  the  design  to  be  executed. 
In  accomplishing  this,  the  plate  is  moderately  heated, 
and  covered  with  a  thin  coating  of  white  wax.  A 
piece  of  transparent  paper  is  then  laid  over  the  design 
to  be  copied,  and  traced  in  outline  with  a  black-lead 
pencil.  The  outline  thus  sketched  is  turned  down 
upon  the  coating  of  white  wax,  and  the  whole  is  sub¬ 
jected  to  the  action  of  a  rolling- press  ;  or  it  is  kept  for 
a  while  under  heavy  weights.  By  the  application  of 
this  pressure,  the  lines  are  transferred  from  the  paper 
to  the  wax  on  the  plate  in  a  reversed  position,  which 
is  necessary  to  make  the  impression  of  the  finished 
plate  resemble  the  original. 

6.  The  pencil-marks  on  the  wax  having  been  light¬ 
ly  traced  on  the  copper  with  the  dry-point,  and  the 
wax  having  been  melted  off,  a  perfect  outline  is  found 
on  the  plate.  Small  subordinate  parts  of  the  design 
are  transferred  to  the  plate  in  the  same  manner,  ex¬ 
cept  that  the  transparent  paper  is  brought  in  forcible 


THE  ENGRAVER.  47 

contact  with  the  waxed  surface  by  means  of  the  bur¬ 
nisher. 

7.  At  this  stage  of  the  process,  the  artist  com¬ 
mences  the  use  of  the  graver.  While  operating  with 
this  instrument,  he  holds  the  handle  in  the  palm  of 
his  hand,  and  pushes  the  point  forward  with  a  firm 
and  steady  motion,  until  a  line  is  produced  by  a  re¬ 
moval  of  a  portion  of  the  metal.  By  a  succession  of 
such  strokes,  judiciously  applied,  the  work  is  com¬ 
pleted.  The  burrs,  or  little  elevations  of  the  copper, 
left  by  the  graver  on  each  side  of  the  lines,  are  re¬ 
moved  by  means  of  the  scraper  and  burnisher.  Mis¬ 
takes  or  blemishes  are  erased  from  the  plate,  either 
with  the  burnisher,  or  by  friction  with  charcoal. 

8.  Stippling .  The  second  mode  of  engraving  is 
called  stippling.  This  resembles  the  last  method  in 
its  process,  except  that  the  effect  is  produced  by  means 
of  minute  punctures  or  excavations,  instead  of  lines. 
These  are  made  either  with  the  dry-point  or  graver. 
When  produced  by  the  former  instrument,  they  are 
of  a  circular  form  ;  when  by  the  latter,  they  are  rhom- 
boidal  or  triangular.  This  style  of  work  is  always 
more  slow,  and  consequently  more  expensive,  than  en¬ 
graving  in  lines.  It  has,  however,  some  advantages 
in  the  softness  and  delicacy  of  its  lights  and  shades, 
and  the  prints  struck  from  it  approach  more  nearly 
to  paintings. 

9.  Etching.  This  mode  of  engraving  is  far  more 
easy  than  any  other,  being  performed  chiefly  by  chem¬ 
ical  corrosion.  In  fact,  any  person  who  can  draw, 
may  etch  coarse  designs  tolerably  well,  after  having 
learned  the  theory  of  the  operation.  To  perform  it, 
the  plate  is  first  covered  with  a  thin  coating  of  some 
resinous  substance,  upon  which  the  acid  employed 
can  have  no  action.  The  design,  and  all  the  lines  it 
requires,  are  next  traced  on  the  plate  with  steel  points, 
called  etching  needles,  which  are  instruments  similar 
to  the  dry-point. 


48 


THE  ENGRAVER. 


10.  The  second  part  of  the  process  is  the  corro¬ 
sion,  or,  as  it  is  technically  called,  biting  in.  This  is 
effected  by  pouring  upon  the  design  a  quantity  of  di¬ 
luted  nitric  acid,  after  having  surrounded  the  edges 
of  the  plate  with  a  wall  of  soft  wax,  to  prevent  the 
escape  of  the  fluid.  A  chemical  action  immediately 
takes  place  in  all  the  lines  or  points  where  the  cop¬ 
per  has  been  denuded  by  the  needle.  After  the  first 
biting  has  been  continued  long  enough,  in  the  judg¬ 
ment  of  the  operator,  the  acid  is  poured  off,  and  the 
plate  examined. 

11.  The  light  shades,  if  found  sufficiently  deep,  are 
then  covered  with  varnish,  to  protect  them  from  fur¬ 
ther  corrosion.  The  biting  is  then  continued  for  the 
second  shades,  in  the  same  manner,  and  afterwards, 
for  the  third  and  succeeding  shades,  until  the  piece 
shall  have  been  finished.  The  plate  having  been 
cleaned,  and  carefully  examined  by  the  aid  of  a  proof 
impression,  the  deficiencies  which  may  be  discovered 
are  supplied  with  the  graver. 

12.  Mezzotinto.  In  the  production  of  this  kind  of 
engraving,  the  whole  surface  of  the  plate  is  first 
roughened,  or  covered  with  minute  prominences  and 
excavations  too  small  to  be  obvious  to  the  naked  eye  ; 
so  that  an  impression  taken  from  it,  in  this  state, 
would  present  a  uniform  velvety,  black  appearance. 
This  roughness  is  produced  mechanically  by  means 
of  a  small  toothed  instrument,  called  a  cradle. 

13.  When  the  plate  has  been  thus  prepared,  the 
rest  of  the  process  is  comparatively  easy.  It  con¬ 
sists  in  pressing  down  or  rubbing  out  the  roughness 
of  certain  parts  of  the  plate,  with  the  burnisher  and 
scraper.  Where  strong  lights  are  required,  the  plate 
is  restored  to  a  smooth  surface ;  for  a  medium  light, 
it  is  moderately  burnished,  or  partially  erased;  and, 
for  the  deepest  shades,  the  ground  is  left  entire,  and 
sometimes  etched,  and  corroded  with  nitric  acid. 


THE  ENGRAVER. 


49 


Impressions  from  mezzotinto  plates  approach  more 
nearly  to  oil  paintings  than  any  other  prints.  This 
kind  of  engraving  was  invented  by  Prince  Rupert,  in 
1649. 

14.  Aqua4inta.  There  are  several  methods  by 
which  this  kind  of  engraving  can  be  executed  ;  we, 
however,  will  describe  the  one  which  seems  to  be  the 
most  simple  and  obvious.  The  outline  of  the  picture 
having  been  etched  or  engraved  in  the  usual  manner, 
the  surface  of  the  copper  is  sprinkled  equally  with 
minute  particles  of  rosin.  This  dust  is  fixed  to  the 
surface  by  heating  the  plate  until  the  rosin  has  melted. 

15.  The  ground  having  been  thus  laid,  the  parts  of 
the  plates  not  intended  to  be  occupied  by  the  design 
are  stopped  out  by  means  of  thick  varnish.  The  plate 
is  now  surrounded  with  a  wall  of  wax,  as  for  etching, 
and  diluted  nitric  acid  is  poured  upon  it.  A  chemical 
action  immediately  takes  place,  by  which  the  surface 
exposed  between  the  resinous  particles  is  minutely 
excavated. 

16.  The  lighter  shades  are  stopped  out  at  an  early 
stage  of  the  process,  and  the  biting  in  is  continued 
for  the  darker  ones.  After  the  plate  is  judged  to  be 
sufficiently  corroded,  it  is  cleansed,  and  an  impression 
is  taken  on  paper.  The  process  is  finished  by  bur¬ 
nishing  the  shades,  to  give  them  greater  softness,  and 
by  touching  up  the  defective  parts  with  the  graver. 

17.  This  mode  of  engraving  is  well  adapted  to  light 
subjects,  sketches,  landscapes,  &c. ;  but,  owing  to  the 
fineness  of  the  ground,  the  plates  wear  out  rapidly, 
and  seldom  yield,  when  of  ordinary  strength,  more 
than  six  hundred  impressions.  The  prints  taken  frofn 
such  plates  bear  a  strong  resemblance  to  paintings 
in  Indian  ink,  or  to  drawings  in  black-lead  pencil. 
Aqua-tinta  is  the  most  precarious  kind  of  engraving, 
and  requires  much  attention  on  the  part  of  the  artist. 
It  was  invented  by  a  Frenchman,  named  Leprince, 

II.— E 


50 


the  engraver. 


who,  for  a  time,  kept  the  process  a  secret,  and  sold 
his  impressions  for  original  drawings. 

18.  Steel  engraving.  The  process  of  engraving  on 
steel  plates  differs  but  little  in  its  details  from  that  on 
copper  plates  ;  and  the  chief  advantage  derived  from 
this  method,  arises  from  the  hardness  or  toughness  of 
the  material,  which  renders  it  capable' of  yfeldirg^a 
greater  number  of  impressions. 

19.  This  mode  of  engraving  was  first  practised,  in, 
England,  by  the  calico-printers ;  but  steel  was  first 
employed  for  bank-notes,  and  for  common  designs,  by 
Jacob  Perkins,  of  Newburyport,  Massachusetts  ;  and 
by  him,  in  conjunction  with  Asa  Spencer,  of  New- 
London,  and  Gideon  Fairman,  of  Philadelphia,  the  use 
of  steel  in  this  application  was  generally  introduced, 
not  only  in  the  United  States,  but  also  in  Great  Brit¬ 
ain,  some  time  before  the  year  1820. 

20.  The  plates  are  prepared  for  the  engraver  from 
sheets  of  steel  about  one-sixth  of  an  inch  in  thickness. 
A  plate  cut  from  a  sheet  of  this  kind  is  first  softened 
by  heating  it  with  charcoal,  and  suffering  it  to  cool 
gradually  in  the  atmosphere.  It  is  next  planished ,  or 
hammered  on  a  peculiar  kind  of  anvil,  to  make  it  per¬ 
fectly  level,  and  afterwards  ground  on  one  side  upon 
a  grindstone.  The  operation  is  completed  by  polish¬ 
ing  it  with  Scotch  stone  and  charcoal.  When  steel 
was  first  substituted  for  copper,  it  was  hardened  be¬ 
fore  it  was  used  in  printing  ;  but  it  is  now  used  in  its 
soft  state,  as  it  comes  from  the  hands  of  the  artist. 

o 


THE  COPPERPLATE-PRINTER. 


1*  The  copperplate- printer  takes  impressions  on 
paper  from  engraved  plates  by  means  of  a  rolling 
press.  This  machine,  together  with  some  of  the  op- 
erations  in  its  application,  are  well  exhibited  in  the 
above  picture. 

2.  The  period  at  which  the  practice  of  printing 
from  engraved  plates  commenced,  cannot  be  ascer¬ 
tained  with  any  degree  of  certainty.  The  Dutch,  the 
Germans,  and  the  Italians,  contend  for  the  honor  of 
introducing  it ;  but  the  weight  of  testimony  seems  to 
be  in  favor  of  the  claims  of  the  Italian  sculptor  and 
goldsmith,  Tommaso  Finiguera,  who  flourished  at 
Florence,  about  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

3.  It  is  stated  that  this  artist,  accidentally  spilling 
some  melted  brimstone  on  an  engraved  plate,  found, 


52  THE  COPPERPLATE-PRINTER. 


on  its  removal,  an  exact  impression  of  the  engraving, 
marked  with  black,  taken  out  of  the  strokes.  This 
suggested  to  him  the  idea  of  taking  an  impression  in 
ink  on  paper,  by  the  aid  of  a  roller.  It  is  hardly  ne¬ 
cessary  to  state,  that  the  experiment  succeeded.  Cop¬ 
perplate-printing  was  not  used  in  England  until  about 
150  years  after  its  first  employment  at  Florence, 
when  it  was  introduced  from  Antwerp,  by  Speed. 

4.  The  ink  used  in  this  kind  of  printing  is  made  of 
a  carbonaceous  substance,  called  Frankfort  black,  and 
linseed  or  nut  oil.  Oil  is  used,  instead  of  water,  that 
the  ink  may  not  dry  during  the  process  ;  and  it  is 
boiled  till  it  has  become  thick  and  viscid,  that  it  may 
not  spread  on  the  paper.  The  materials  are  incor¬ 
porated  and  prepared  with  the  stone  and  muller,  as 
painters  prepare  their  colors. 

5.  In  taking  impressions  from  an  engraved  plate, 
it  is  first  placed  on  an  iron  frame  over  a  heated  stove, 
or  over  a  charcoal  fire  in  a  furnace,  and  while  in  this 
position,  the  ink  is  spread  over  it  with  a  roller  covered 
with  coarse  cloth,  or  with  a  ball  or  rubber  made  of 
the  same  material,  and  faced  with  buckskin.  The 
heat  renders  the  ink  so  thin  that  it  can  penetrate  the 
minute  excavations  of  the  engraving.  The  plate  hav¬ 
ing  been  thus  sufficiently  charged,  is  wiped  first  with 
a  rag,  then  with  the  hand,  until  the  ink  has  been  re¬ 
moved  from  every  portion  of  it,  except  from  the  lines 
of  the  engraving. 

6.  The  plate  is  next  placed  on  the  platform  of  the 
press,  with  its  face  upwards,  and  the  paper,  which  has 
been  previously  dampened,  is  laid  upon  it.  A  turn  of 
the  cylinders,  by  means  of  the  arms  of  the  cross,  car¬ 
ries  the  plate  under  a  strong  pressure,  by  which  por¬ 
tions  of  the  paper  are  forced  into  all  the  cavities  of 
the  engraving.  The  ink,  or  part  of  it,  leaves  the 
plate,  and  adheres  to  the  paper,  giving  an  exact  rep¬ 
resentation  of  the  whole  work  of  the  artist.  The  roll- 


THE  COPPERPLAT  E-P  R  I  N  T  E  R.  53 

er  by  which  the  pressure  is  applied  is  covered  with 
several  thicknesses  of  broadcloth. 

7.  The  number  #f  good  impressions  yielded  by  en¬ 
graved  copperplates,  depends  upon  various  circum¬ 
stances,  but  chiefly  on  the  fineness  and  depth  of  the 
work  ;  and  these  qualities  depend  mainly  upon  the 
style  in  which  it  has  been  executed.  Line  engravings 
will  admit  of  four^pr  five  thousand,  and,  after  having 
been  retouched,  a  considerable  number  more. 

8.  Plates  of  steel  will  yield  near  ten  times  as  many 
good  impressions  as  those  of  copper,  and  this  too 
without  being  hardened.  Besides,  an  engraving  on 
steel  may  be  transferred  to  a  softened  steel  cylinder, 
in  such,  a  manner  that  the  lines  may  stand  in  relief ; 
and  this  cylinder,  after  having  been  hardened,  may 
be  brought  in  forcible  contact  with  another  plate,  and 
thus  the  design  may  be  multiplied  at  pleasure. 

9.  The  bank-note  engravers  have  now  a  great  va¬ 
riety  of  designs  and  figures  on  steel  rollers,  which 
they  can  easily  transfer  to  new  plates.  This  practice, 
as  applied  to  plates  for  bank-notes,  originated  with 
Jacob  Perkins.  It  is  supposed  that  he  must  have 
been  led  to  it  by  an  English  engraver  in  his  employ, 
who  may  have  explained  to  him  the  manner  in  which 
the  British  calico-printers  produced  engravings  on 
copper  cylinders.  This  is  not  altogether  improbable, 
since  the  principle  in  both  cases  is  substantially  the 
same. 

10.  In  consequence  of  the  increased  demand  for 
maps  and  pictorial  embellishments  in  books,  as  well 
as  for  single  prints  as  ornaments  for  rooms,  engraving 
and  copperplate-printing  have  become  employments 
of  considerable  importance  ;  and  these  arts  must 
doubtless  continue  to  flourish  to  an  indefinite  extent, 
in  a  country  where  the  taste  for  the  fine  arts  is  rap¬ 
idly  improving,  and  where  wealth  affords  the  means 
of  liberal  patronage. 


E  2 


THE  LITHOGRAPHER. 

1.  The  word  lithography  is  derived  from  two  Greek 
words — lithos,  a  stone,  and  grapho ,  to  write  ;  and  the 
art  to  which  the  term  is  applied  has  reference  to  the 
execution  of  letters,  figures,  and  drawings,  on  stone, 
and  taking  from  them  fac-simile  impressions.  The 
art  is  founded  on  the  property  which  stone  possesses, 
of  imbibing  fluids  by  capillary  attraction,  and  on  the 
chemical  repulsion  which  oil  and  water  have  for  each 
other. 

2.  Every  kind  of  calcareous  stone  is  capable  of 
being  used  for  lithography.  Those,  however,  which 
are  of  a  compact,  fine,  and  equal  grain,  are  best 
adapted  to  the  purpose.  The  quarries  of  Solenhofen, 
near  Pappenheim,  in  Bavaria,  furnished  the  first 
plates,  and  none  have  yet  been  found  in  any  other 


THE  LITHOGRAPHER. 


55 


place,  to  equal  them  in  quality ;  although  some  that 
answer  the  purpose  tolerably  well,  have  been  taken 
from  quarries  in  France  and  England. 

3.  In  preparing  the  stones  for  use,  they  are  first 
ground  to  a  level  surface,  by  rubbing  two  of  them 
face  to  face,  sand  and  water  being  interposed.  Then, 
if  they  are  designed  for  ink  drawings ,  they  are  polish¬ 
ed  with  pumice-stone  ;  but,  if  for  chalk  drawings,  with 
fine  sand,  which  produces  a  grained  surface  adapted 
to  holding  the  chalk. 

4.  When  stones  of  proper  size  and  texture  cannot 
be  conveniently  obtained,  slabs  are  sometimes  con¬ 
structed  of  lime  and  sand,  and  united  with  the  case¬ 
ous  part  of  milk.  The  first  part  of  the  process  which 
may  be  considered  as  belonging  peculiarly  to  the  art, 
consists  in  making  the  drawing  on  the  stone.  This 
is  done  either  in  ink,  with  steel  pens  and  camel’s  hair 
pencils,  or  with  crayons  made  of  lithographic  chalk. 
The  process  of  drawing  on  stone  differs  but  little 
from  that  on  paper,  with  similar  means. 

5.  For  lithographic  ink,  a  great  number  of  receipts 
have  been  given  ;  but  the  most  approved  composition 
consists  of  equal  parts  of  wax,  tallow,  shell-lac,  and 
common  soap,  with  a  small  proportion  of  lamp-black. 
Lithographic  chalk  is  usually  composed  of  the  same 
materials,  combined  in  different  proportions. 

6.  When  the  drawing  has  been  finished,  the  litho¬ 
graphic  printer  prepares,  it  for  giving  impressions,  by 
using  upon  its  surface  a  weak  solution  of  acid  and 
other  ingredients,  which  corrode  the  surface  of  the 
stone,  except  where  it  is  defended  from  its  action  by 
the  grease  of  the  chalk  or  ink.  As  soon  as  the  stone 
has  been  sufficiently  eaten  away,  the  solution  is  re¬ 
moved  by  the  application  of  spirits  of  turpentine  and 
water. 

7.  The  ink  employed  in  this  kind  of  printing,  is 
similar  in  its  composition  to  other  kinds  of  printing 


56 


THE  LITHOGRAPHER. 


ink.  It  is  applied  to  the  drawing  by  means  of  a  small 
wooden  cylinder  covered  with  leather.  The  paper, 
which  has  been  suitably  dampened,  is  laid  upon  the 
stone,  and  after  it  has  been  covered,  by  turning  down 
upon  it  a  thick  piece  of  leather  stretched  upon  an  iron 
frame,  a  crank  is  turned  which  brings  the  stone  suc¬ 
cessively  under  the  press. 

8.  An  impression  of  the  drawing  having  been  thus 
communicated  to  the  paper,  the  sheet  is  removed,  and 
the  process  is  repeated,  until  the  proposed  number  of 
prints  have  been  taken.  Before  each  application  of 
the  ink,  the  whole  face  of  the  stone  is  moderately  wet 
with  water  by  means  of  a  sponge  ;  and  although  the 
roller  passes  over  the  whole  surface  of  the  stone,  yet 
the  ink  adheres  to  no  part  of  it,  except  to  that  which 
is  covered  with  the  drawing. 

9.  The  number  of  impressions  which  may  be  taken 
from  chalk  drawings,  varies  according  to  their  fine¬ 
ness.  A  fine  drawing  will  give  fifteen  hundred  ;  a 
coarse  one,  twice  that  number.  Ink  drawings  and 
writings  give  considerably  more  than  copperplates, 
the  finest  yielding  six  or  eight  thousand,  and  strong 
lines  and  writings  many  more. 

10.  Impressions  from  engravings  can  be  multiplied 
indefinitely,  with  very  little  trouble,  in  the  following 
manner.  A, print  is  taken  in  the  usual  way  from  the 
engraved  plate,  and  immediately  laid  with  its  face 
upon  water.  When  sufficiently  wet,  it  is  .carefully 
applied  to  the  face  of  a  stone,  and  pressed  down  upon 
it  by  the  application  of  a  roller,  until  the  ink  is  trans¬ 
ferred  to  the  stone.  Impressions  are  then  taken  in 
the  manner  before  described. 

11.  The  invention  of  lithography  is  ascribed  to 
Aloys  Senifelder,  the  son  of  a  performer  at  the  thea- 
tre  of  Munich.  Having  become  an  author,  and  being 
too  poor  to  publish  his  works  in  the  usual  way,  he 
tried  many  plans,  with  copperplates  and  compositions. 


THE  LITHOGRAPHER. 


57 


in  order  to  be  his  own  printer.  A  trial  on  stone, 
which  had  been  accidentally  suggested,  succeeded. 
His  first  essays  to  print  for  publication,  were  some 
pieces  of  music,  executed  in  1796. 

12.  The  first  productions  of  the  art  were  rude, 
and  of  little  promise  ;  but,  since  1806,  its  progress 
has  been  so  rapid,  that  it  now  gives  employment  to  a 
great  number  of  artists  ;  and  works  are  produced, 
which  rival  the  finest  engravings,  and  even  surpass 
them  in  the  expression  of  certain  subjects.  The  ear¬ 
liest  date  of  the  art  in  the  United  States,  is  1826, 
when  a  press  was  established  at  Boston,  by  William 
Pendleton. 


4 


THE  AUTHOR. 

1.  The  word  author,  in  a  general  sense,  is  used  to 
express  the  originator  or  efficient  cause  of  a  thing ; 
but,  in  the  restricted  sense  in  which  it  is  applied  in 
this  article,  it  signifies  the  first  writer  of  a  book,  or  a 
writer  in  general.  The  indispensable  qualifications 
to  make  a  writer  are — a  talent  for  literary  composi¬ 
tion,  an  accurate  knowledge  of  language,  and  an  ac¬ 
quaintance  with  the  subject  to  be  treated. 

2.  Very  few  persons  are  educated  with  the  view  to 
their  becoming  authors.  They  generally  write  on 
subjects  pertaining  to  the  profession  or  business  in 
which  they  have  been  practically  engaged  :  a  clergy¬ 
man  writes  on  divinity  ;  a  physician,  on  medicine  ;  a 
lawyer,  on  jurisprudence  ;  a  teacher,  on  education ; 
and  a  mechanic,  on  his  particular  trade.  There  are 


THE  AUTHOR. 


59 


subjects,  however,  which  occupy  common  ground,  on 
which  individuals  of  various  professions  often  write. 

.  3.  Authorship  is  founded  upon  the  invention  of  let¬ 
ters,  and  the  art  of  combining  them  into  words.  In 
the  earliest  ages  of  the  world,  the  increase  of  knowl- 
edge  was  opposed  by  many  formidable  obstacles. 
Tradition  was  the  first  means  of  transmitting  infor¬ 
mation  to  posterity ;  and  this,  depending  upon  the 
memory  and  will  of  individuals,  was  exceedingly  pre¬ 
carious. 

4.  The  chief  adventitious  aids  in  the  perpetuation 
of  the  memory  of  facts  by  tradition,  were  the  erection 
of  monuments,  the  periodical  celebration  of  days  or 
years,  the  use  of  poetry,  and,  finally,  symbolical  draw¬ 
ings  and  hieroglyphical  sketches.  Nevertheless,  his¬ 
tory  must  have  remained  uncertain  and  fabulous,  and 
science  in  a  state  of  perpetual  infancy,  had  it  not  been 
for  the  invention  of  written  characters. 

5.  The  credit  of  the  invention  of  letters  was  claim¬ 
ed  by  the  Egyptians,  Phoenicians,  and  Jews,  as  well 
as  by  some  other  nations  ;  but  as  their  origin  prece¬ 
ded  all  authentic  history  not  inspired,  and  as  the  book 
of  inspiration  is  silent  in  regard  to  it,  no  satisfactory 
conclusion  can  be  formed  on  this  point.  Some  anti¬ 
quarians  are  of  opinion,  that  the  strongest  claims  are 
presented  by  the  Phoenicians. 

6.  The  Pentateuch  embraces  the  earliest  specimen 
of  phonetic  or  alphabetic  writing  now  extant,  and  this 
was  written  about  1500  years  before  Christ.  Many 
persons  suppose  that,  as  the  Deity  himself  inscribed 
the  ten  commandments  on  the  two  tables  of  stone,  he 
taught  Moses  the  use  of  letters ;  and,  on  this  suppo¬ 
sition,  is  founded  the  claim  of  the  Jewish  nation  to 
the  honor  of  the  first  human  application  of  them. 

7.  If  we  may  believe  Pliny,  sixteen  characters  of 
the  alphabet  were  introduced  into  Greece  by  Cadmus, 
the  Phoenician,  in  the  days  of  Moses  ;  four  more  were 


60 


•the  auth  or. 


added  by  Palamedes  during  the  Trojan  war,  and  four 
afterwards,  by  Simonides.  Alphabetical  writing  evi¬ 
dently  sprung  from  successive  improvements  in  the 
hieroglyphical  system,  since  a  great  part  of  the  lat¬ 
ter  has  been  lately  discovered  to  be  syllabic  or  al¬ 
phabetic. 

8.  A  considerable  number  of  very  ancient  alphabets 
still  exist  on  the  monumental  remains  of  some  of  the 
first  post-diluvian  cities,  and  several  of  later  date,  in 
manuscripts  which  have  descended  to  our  times. 
The  letters  employed  in  different  languages  have 
ever  been  subject  to  great  changes  in  their  confor¬ 
mation.  This  was  especially  the  case  before  the  in¬ 
troduction  of  the  art  of  printing,  which  has  contribu¬ 
ted  greatly  towards  permanency  in  this  respect. 

9.  The  mode  of  arranging  the  letters  in  writing 
has,  also,  varied  considerably.  Some  nations  have 
written  in  perpendicular  lines,  as  the  Chinese  and  an¬ 
cient  Egyptians  ;  others  from  right  to  left,  as  the 
Jews  ;  and  others,  again,  alternately  from  left  to  right, 
as  was  the  method  at  one  period  among  the  Greeks- 
The  mode  of  writing  from  left  to  right  now  generally 
practised,  is  preferable  to  any  other,  since  it  leaves, 
uncovered  that  portion  of  the  page  upon  which  writing 
has  been  made. 

10.  In  ancient  times,  literary  productions  were  con¬ 
sidered  public  property ;  and,  consequently,  as  soon 
as  a  work  was  published,  transcribers  assumed  the 
right  to  multiply  copies  at  pleasure,  without  making 
the  authors  the  least  remuneration.  They,  however,  ' 
were  sometimes  rewarded  with  great  liberality,  by 
princes  or  wealthy  patrons.  This  literary  piracy 
continued,  until  a  long  time  after  the  introduction  of 
the  art  of  printing. 

11.  In  almost  every  kingdom  of  Europe,  and  in  the 
United  States,  the  exclusive  right  of  authors  to  pub¬ 
lish  their  own  productions,  is  now  secured  to  them  by 
law,  at  least  for  a  specified  number  of  years.  The 


THE  AUTHOR. 


61 


first  legislative  proceeding  on  this  subject  in  England, 
took  place  in  1662,  when  the  publication  of  any  book 
was  prohibited,  except  through  the  permission  of  the 
lord-chamberlain.  The  title  of  the  book,  and  the 
name  of  the  proprietor,  were,  also,  required  to  be  en¬ 
tered  in  the  record  of  the  Stationers’  Company. 

12.  This  and  some  subsequent  acts  having  been 
repealed  in  1691,  literary  property  was  left  to  the 
protection  of  the  common  law,  by  which  the  amount 
of  damages  which  could  be  proved  to  have  actually 
occurred  in  case  of  infringement,  could  be  recovered, 
and  no  more.  New  applications  were,  therefore, 
made  to  parliament ;  and,  in  1709,  a  statute  was 
passed,  by  which  the  property  of  copyright  was 
guarded  for  fourteen  years,  with  severe  penalties. 
This  privilege  was  connected  with  the  condition,  that 
a  .copy  of  the  work  be  deposited  in  nine  public  libra¬ 
ries  specified  in  the  act. 

13.  In  1774,  the  Parliament  decided  that,  at  the 
end  of  fourteen  years,  the  copyright  might  be  renew¬ 
ed,  in  case  the  author  were  still  living.  The  law  con¬ 
tinued  on  this  footing  until  1814,  when  the  contin¬ 
gency  with  regard  to  the  last  fourteen  years  was  re¬ 
moved  ;  and,  if  the  author  still  survived,  the  privilege 
of  publication  was  extended  to  the  close  of  his  life. 

14.  In  the  United  States,  the  jurisdiction  of  this 
subject  is  vested  by  the  Constitution  in  the  Federal 
Government ;  and,  in  1790,  a  law  was  passed  by  Con¬ 
gress,  securing  to  the  authors  of  books,  charts,  maps, 
engravings,  &c.,  being  citizens  of  the  United  States 
or  resident  therein,  privileges  like  those  granted  in 
England,  in  1774.  In  1831,  the  law  was  altered,  and 
again  made  to  conform  to  that  of  England  in  regard 
to  the  period  of  the  privileges.  The  English  and 
American  laws  differ  in  no  essential  provision.  Until 
the  year  1839,  foreigners  were  permitted  to  hold  copy¬ 
rights  in  England. 

II.— F 


62 


THE  AUTHOR. 


15.  In  France,  the  first  statute  regarding  literary 
property  was  passed  in  1793,  when  the  right  of  authors 
to  their  works  was  secured  to  them  during  their  lives, 
and  to  their  heirs  for  ten  years  after  their  decease. 
The  decree  of  1810  extended  the  right  of  the  heirs 
to  twenty  years.  In  Russia,  the  period  of  copyright 
is  the  same  as  in  France,  and  the  property  is  not  lia¬ 
ble  for  the  payment  of  the  author’s  debts. 

16.  In  some  of  the  German  states,  the  right  is 
given  for  the  lifetime  of  the  author  ;  in  others,  it  is 
made  perpetual,  like  any  other  property ;  but  then 
the  work  may  be  printed  with  impunity  in  any  of  the 
other  states  in  which  a  right  has  not  been  secured. 
In  Germany  and  Italy,  especially,  authors  are  very 
poorly  remunerated  ;  and  in  Spain,  the  book  trade 
has  been  so  much  oppressed  by  a  merciless  censor¬ 
ship,  that  authors  are  compelled  to  publish  their  works 
on  their  own  account. 

17.  From  the  preceding  statement  it  appears,  that 
few  legislators  have  been  willing  to  place  the  produc¬ 
tions  of  intellectual  labor  on  the  same  honorable  foot¬ 
ing  with  other  kinds  of  property.  No  reason,  how¬ 
ever,  can  be  assigned  for  the  distinction,  except  the 
unjust  and  piratical  usage  of  two  or  three  thousand 
years. 

18.  Authors  seldom  publish  their  own  works. 
They  generally  find  it  expedient,  and,  in  fact,  neces¬ 
sary,  to  intrust  this  part  of  the  business  to  booksellers 
and  publishers,  from  whom  they  usually  receive  a 
specified  amount  for  the  entire  copyright,  or  a  certain 
sum  for  each  and  every  copy  which  may  be  sold  du¬ 
ring  the  term  of  years  which  may  be  agreed  upon. 
The  compensation  is  commonly  insufficient  to  pay 
them  for  preparing  the  works  for  the  press ;  but  they 
are  as  well  paid  in  this  country  as  in  any  other.  In 
this  particular,  however,  there  has  been  a  manifest 
improvement  within  the  last  ten  years. 


THE  PRINTER. 

1.  From  what  has  been  said  in  a  preceding  article, 
it  is  manifest  that  the  art  of  printing  arose  from  the 
practice  of  engraving  on  wood.  Letters  were  cut  on 
wood  as  inscriptions  to  pictures,  and  were  printed  at 
the  same  time  with  them,  by  means  of  a  hand-roller. 
The  impressions  were  taken  on  one  side  of  the  paper ; 
and,  in  order  to  hide  the  nakedness  of  the  blank  side, 
two  leaves  were  pasted  together.  These  leaves  were 
put  up  in  pamphlet  form,  and  are  now  known  under 
the  denomination  of  block-books ,  because  they  were 
printed  from  wooden  blocks. 

2.  Although  the  art  of  typographical  printing  can 
be  clearly  traced  to  wood  engraving,  yet  so  much  un¬ 
certainty  rests  upon  its  history,  that  the  honor  of  its 
invention  is  claimed  by  three  cities — Harlem,  in  Hoi- 


64 


THE  PRINTER. 


land,  and  Strasburg  and  Mentz,  in  Germany ;  and,  at 
the  present  time,  it  is  difficult  to  determine  satisfacto¬ 
rily  the  merits  of  their  respective  claims.  The  ob¬ 
scurity  on  this  point  has  arisen  from  the  desire  of  the 
first  printers  to  conceal  the  process  of  the  art,  that 
their  productions  might  pass  for  manuscripts,  and  that 
they  might  enjoy  the  full  benefit  of  their  invention. 

3.  The  advocates  of  the  claims  of  Harlem  state, 
that  Laurentius  Coster  applied  wooden  types,  and 
some  say,  even  metal  types,  as  early  as  1428,  and 
that  several  persons  were  employed  by  him  in  the  bu¬ 
siness  up  to  the  year  1440,  when  his  materials  were 
stolen  from  him  by  one  of  his  workmen  or  servants, 
named  John,  while  the  family  were  engaged  in  cele¬ 
brating  the  festival  of  Christmas  eve.  The  thief  is 
said  to  have  fled  first  to  Amsterdam,  then  to  Cologne, 
and,  finally,  to  have  settled  in  Mentz,  where,  within  a 
twelvemonth,  he  published  two  small  works,  by  means 
of  the  types  which  Laurentius  Coster  had  used. 

4.  These  claims  in  favor  of  Harlem,  however, 
were  not  set  forth  until  120  years  after  the  death  of 
Coster ;  and  the  whole  story,  as  then  stated  by  Ha- 
driamus  Junius,  was  founded  altogether  upon  tradi¬ 
tionary  testimony.  Perhaps  wood  engravings,  with 
inscriptions,  may  have  been  executed  there  ;  if  so,  the 
account  may  have  originated  from  that  circumstance. 

5.  The  statements  which  seem  to  be  the  most  wor¬ 
thy  of  credit,  bestow  the  honor  of  this  invention  on  a 
citizen  of  Mentz.  Here,  it  appears,  that  John  Geins- 
fleisch,  or  Guttemburg  senior,  published  two  small 
works  for  schools,  in  1442,  on  wooden  types  ;  but, 
not  having  the  funds  necessary  to  carry  on  the  busi¬ 
ness,  he  applied  to  John  Faust,  a  rich  goldsmith,  who 
became  a  partner,  in  1443,  and  advanced  the  requi¬ 
site  means.  Soon  afterwards,  J.  Meidenbachius  and 
some  others  were  admitted  as  partners. 

6.  In  the  following  year,  John  Guttemburg,  the 


THE  PRINTER. 


65 


brother  of  Geinsfleisch,  made  an  addition  to  the  firm. 
For  several  years  before  this  union,  or  from  1436, 
Guttemburg  had  been  attempting  to  complete  the  in¬ 
vention  at  Strasburg ;  but  it  is  said  that  he  had  never 
been  able  to  produce  a  clean  printed  sheet.  The 
brothers  may,  or  may  not,  have  pursued  their  exper¬ 
iments  without  receiving  any  hints  from  each  other, 
before  their  union  at  Mentz. 

7.  Soon  after  the  formation  of  this  partnership,  the 
two  brothers  commenced  cutting  metal  types,  for  the 
purpose  of  printing  an  edition  of  the  Bible,  which 
was  published  in  Latin,  about  the  year  1450.  Before 
this  great  achievement  of  the  art  had  been  effected, 
Geinsfleisch  appears  to  have  retired  from  the  concern, 
some  say,  on  account  of  blindness. 

8.  The  partnership  before  mentioned,  was  dissolv¬ 
ed,  in  1450,  and  Faust  and  Guttemburg  entered  into 
a  new  arrangement,  the  former  supplying  money,  the 
latter,  personal  services,  for  their  mutual  benefit ;  but 
various  difficulties  having  arisen,  this  partnership  was 
also  dissolved,  in  1455,  after  a  lawsuit  between  them, 
which  was  decided  against  Guttemburg. 

9.  Faust,  having  obtained  possession  of  the  print¬ 
ing  materials,  entered  into  partnership  with  Peter 
Shceffer,  who  had  been  for  a  long  time  a  servant,  or 
workman,  in  the  printing  establishment.  In  1457, 
they  published  an  edition  of  the  Psalter ,  which  was 
then  considered  uncommonly  elegant.  This  book  # 
was,  in  a  great  measure,  the  work  of  Guttemburg, 
since,  during  the  flSur  years  in  which  it  was  in  the 
press,  he  was,  for  tvyo  years  and  a  half,  the  chief  op¬ 
erator  in  the  printing-office. 

10.  Guttemburg,  by  the  pecuniary  aid  of  Conrad 
Humery  and  others,  established  another  press  in 
Mentz,  and,  in  1460,  published  the  “  Catholicon  Joan- 
nis  Januensis.”  It  was  a  very  handsome  work,  but 
not  equal  in  beauty  to  the  Psalter  of  Faust  and  Shaef- 

F  2 


66 


THE  PRINTER. 


fer.  The  latter  was  the  first  printed  book  known  to 
have  a  genuine  date.  From  this  time,  it  has  been 
the  practice  for  printers  to  claim  their  own  produc¬ 
tions,  by  prefixing  to  them  their  names. 

11.  Notwithstanding  the  great  advancement  which 
had  been  made  in  the  art  of  printing,  the  invention 
cannot,  by  any  means,  be  considered  complete,  until 
about  the  year  1458,  when  Peter  Shoeffer  contrived  a 
method  of  casting  types  in  a  matrix,  or  mould.  The 
first  book  executed  with  cast  metal  types  was  called 
“  Durandi  Ralionale  Divinorum  Officiorum ,”  published 
in  1459.  Only  the  smaller  letters,  however,  were  of 
this  description,  all  the  larger  characters  which  occur, 
being  cut  types.  These  continued  to  be  used,  more 
or  less,  as  late  as  the  year  1490. 

12.  In  1462,  Faust  carried  to  Paris  a  number  of 
Latin  Bibles,  which  he  and  Shoeffer  had  printed,  and 
disposed  of  many  of  them  as  manuscripts.  At  first, 
he  sold  them  at  five  or  six  hundred  crowns,  the  sums 
usually  obtained  by  the  scribes.  He  afterwards  low¬ 
ered  the  price  to  sixty.  This  created  universal  as¬ 
tonishment  ;  but,  when  he  produced  them  according 
to  the  demand,  and  when  he  had  reduced  the  price  to 
thirty,  all  Paris  became  agitated. 

13.  The  uniformity  of  the  copies  increased  the 
wonder  of  the  Parisians,  and  information  was  finally 
given  against  him  to  the  police  as  a  magician.  He 
was  accordingly  arrested,  and  a  great  number  of  his 
Bibles  were  seized.  The  red  ink  with  which  they 
were  embellished,  was  supposed  to  be  his  blood.  It 
was  seriously  adjudged,  that  the  prisoner  was  joined 
in  league  with  the  devil ;  and  had  he  not  disclosed 
the  secret  of  his  art,  he  would  probably  have  shared 
the  fate  of  those  whom  the  magistrates  of  those  su- 
perstitious  times  condemned  for  witchcraft. 

14.  It  may  be  well  to  inform  the  reader,  that,  al¬ 
though  the  story  of  Faust’s  arrest,  as  above  detailed, 


THE  PRINTER. 


67 


is  related  as  a  fact  by  several  authors,  yet  by  others 
it  is  thought  to  be  unworthy  of  credit.  It  is  also  gen¬ 
erally  supposed,  that  the  celebrated  romance  of  “  Doc¬ 
tor  Faustus  and  the  devil”  originated  in  the  malice 
of  the  monks  towards  Faust,  whose  employment  of 
printing  deprived  them  of  their  gain  as  copiers.  It 
seems  more  probable,  however,  that  it  arose  from  the 
astonishing  performances  of  Doctor  John  Faust,  a 
dealer  in  the  black  art,  who  lived  in  Germany  in  the 
beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

15.  Faust  and  Shceffer  continued  their  printing 
operations  together,  at  least,  until  1466,  about  which 
time  it  is  conjectured,  that  the  former  died  of  the 
plague,  at  Paris.  Geinsfleisch,  or,  as  he  is  sometimes 
called,  Guttemburg  senior,  died  in  1462;  and  his 
brother  Guttemburg  junior,  in  1468,  after  having  en¬ 
joyed,  for  three  years,  the  privileges  of  nobility,  which, 
together  with  a  pension,  had  been  conferred  upon  him 
by  Archbishop  Adolphus,  in  consideration  of  his  great 
services  to  mankind. 

16.  More  copies  of  the  earliest  printed  books  were 
impressed  on  vellum  than  on  paper ;  but  very  soon 
paper  was  used  for  a  principal  part  of  the  edition, 
while  a  few  only  were  printed  on  vellum,  as  curiosi¬ 
ties,  to  be  ornamented  by  the  illuminators,  whose  in¬ 
genious  art,  though  in  vogue  before  and  at  that  time, 
did  not  long  survive  the  rapid  improvements  in  print¬ 
ing. 

17.  We  are  informed,  that  the  Mentz  printers  ob¬ 
served  the  utmost  secrecy  in  their  operations ;  and, 
that  the  art  might  not  be  divulged  by  the  persons 
whom  they  employed,  they  administered  to  them  an 
oath  of  fidelity.  This  appears  to  have  been  strictly 
adhered  to,  until  the  year  1462,  when  the  city  was 
taken  and  plundered  by  Archbishop  Adolphus.  Amid 
the  consternation  which  had  arisen  from  this  event, 
the  workmen  spread  themselves  in  different  direc- 


68 


THE  PRINTER. 


tions ;  and,  considering  their  oath  no  longer  obliga¬ 
tory,  they  soon  divulged  the  secret,  which  was  rapidly 
diffused  throughout  Europe. 

18.  Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  celerity  with 
which  a  knowledge  of  printing  was  extended,  from 
the  fact  that  the  art  was  received  in  two  hundred  and 
th  ree  places,  prior  to  the  year  1500.  It  was  brought 
to  England,  in  1471,  by  William  Caxton,  a  mercer 
of  the  city  of  London,  who  had  spent  many  years  in 
Germany  and  Holland.  The  place  of  the  first  loca¬ 
tion  of  his  press  was  Westminster  Abbey.  The  first 
press  in  North  America  was  established  at  Cambridge, 
Massachusetts,  in  1639. 

19.  Printed  newspapers  had  their  origin  in  Ger¬ 
many-  They  first  appeared  in  Augsburg  and  Vien¬ 
na,  in  1524.  They  were  originally  without  date  or 
place  of  impression  ;  nor  were  they  published  at  regu¬ 
lar  periods.  The  first  German  paper  with  numbered 
sheets  was  printed,  in  1612;  and,  from  this  time, 
must  be  dated  periodical  publications  in  that  part  of 
Europe. 

20..  In  England,  the  first  newspaper  appeared  du¬ 
ring  the  reign  of  Elizabeth.  It  originated  in  a  desire 
to  communicate  information  in  regard  to  the  expected 
invasion  by  the  Spanish  armada,  and  was  entitled  the 
Ai  English  Mercury,”  which,  by  authority,  was  print¬ 
ed  at  London  by  Christopher  Barker,  her  highness’s 
printer,  in  1588. 

21.  These,  however,  were  extraordinary  gazettes, 
not  regularly  published.  Periodicals  seem  to  have 
been  first  extensively  used  by  the  English,  during  the 
civil  wars  in  the  time  of  the  Commonwealth.  The 
number  of  newspapers  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland 
amounted,  in  1629,  to  325,  and  the  sums  paid  to  the 
government  for  stamps  and  duties  on  advertisements, 
amounted  to  about  £678,000  sterling. 

22.  No  newspaper  appeared  in  the  British  colonies 


THE  PRINTER. 


69 


of  America  until  1704,  when  the  “News  Letter”  was 
issued  at  Boston.  The  first  paper  published  in  Phil¬ 
adelphia,  was  issued  in  1719  ;  the. first  in  New. York, 
in  1733.  In  1775,  there  were  37  ;  and  in  1801,  there 
were,  in  the  whole  United  States,  203;  in  1810,  358  ; 
at  the  present  time,  there  are  about  1500,  and  the 
number  is  annually  increasing. 

23.  The  first  periodical  paper  of  France  originated 
with  Renaudot,  a  physician  in  Paris,  who,  for  a  long 
time,  had  been  in  the  habit  of  collecting  news,  which 
he  communicated  verbally  to  his  patients,  with  the 
view  to  their  amusement.  But,  in  1631,  he  commen¬ 
ced  the  publication  of  a  weekly  sheet,  called  the  “  Ga¬ 
zette  de  France,”  which  was  continued  with.'very  lit¬ 
tle  interruption,  until  1827.  There  are  now,  prob¬ 
ably,  in  France,  about  400  periodical  publications, 
most  of  which  have  been  established  since  the  com¬ 
mencement  of  the  revolution  of  1792. 

24.  Periodicals  devoted  to  different  objects  have 
been  established  in  every  other  kingdom  of  Europe  ; 
but,  in  many  cases,  they  are  trammelled  by  a  strict 
censorship  of  the  respective  governments.  This  is 
especially  the  case  with  those  devoted  to  politics  or 
religion.  But  all  Europe,  with  its  200,000,000  of 
inhabitants,  does  not  support  as  many  regular  publi¬ 
cations  as  the  United  States,  with  its  17,000,000. 

25.  The  workmen  employed  in  a  printing-office 
are  of  two  kinds  :  compositors ,  who  arrange  the 
types  according  to  the  copy  delivered  to  them  ;  and 
pressmen,  who  apply  ink  on  the  types,  and  take  off 
impressions.  In  many  cases,  and  especially  where 
the  business  is  carried  on  upon  a  small  scale,  the 
workmen  often  practise  both  branches. 

26.  Before  the  types  are  applied  to  use,  they  are 
placed  in  the  cells  or  compartments  of  a  wooden  re¬ 
ceptacle  called  a  case,  each  species  of  letter,  character 
and  space,  by  itself.  The  letters  which  are  required 


70 


THE  PRINTER. 


most  frequently,  are  lodged  in  the  largest  compart¬ 
ments,  which  are  located  nearest  to  the  place  wkere 
the  compositor  stands,  while  arranging  the  types. 

27.  The  compositor  is  furnished  with  a  composing, 
stick,  which  is  commonly  an  iron  instrument,  surround¬ 
ed  on  three  sides  with  ledges  about  half  an  inch  in 
height,  one  of  which  is  moveable,  so  that  it  may  be 
adjusted  to  any  length  of  line.  The  compositor,  in 
the  performance  of  his  work,  selects  the  letters  from 
their  several  compartments,  and  arranges  them  in  an 
inverted  order  from  that  in  which  they  are  to  appear 
in  the  printed  page. 

28.  At  the  end  of  each  word  is  placed  a  quadrat,  to 
produce  a  space  between  that  and  the  one  which  fol¬ 
lows.  The  quadrats  are  of  various  widths,  and  being 
considerably  shorter  than  types,  they  yield  no  impres¬ 
sion  in  printing.  A  thin  brass  rule  is  placed  in  the 
stick,  on  which  each  successive  line  of  types  is  arran¬ 
ged.  When  the  composing-stick  has  been  filled,  it  is 
emptied  into  the  galley ,  which  is  a  flat  board,  partly 
surrounded  with  a  rim. 

29.  On  this  galley,  the  lines  are  accumulated  in 
long  columns,  which  are  afterwards  divided  into  pages, 
and  tied  together  with  a  string,  to  prevent  the  types 
from  falling  asunder,  or  into  pi,  as  the  printers  term 
it.  A  sufficient  number  of  pages  having  been  com¬ 
pleted  to  constitute  a  form,  or,  in  other  words,  to  fill 
one  side  of  a  sheet  of  printing-paper,  they  are  arran¬ 
ged  on  an  imposing-stone,  and  strongly  locked  up,  or 
wedged  together,  in  an  iron  chase . 

30.  The  first  impression  taken  from  the  types  is 
called  the  proof.  This  is  carefully  read  over  by  the 
autljpr  or  proof-reader,  or  both,  and  the  errors  and 
corrections  plainly  marked  in  the  margin.  These 
corrections  having  been  made  by  the  compositor,  the 
form  is  again  locked  up,  and  delivered  to  the  press¬ 
man. 


THE  PRINTER. 


71 


31.  The  pressman  having  dampened  his  paper 
with  water,  and  put  every  part  of  his  press  in  order, 
takes  impressions  in  the  following  manner  :  he  places 
the  sheet  upon  the  tympan ,  and  confines  it  there  by 
turning  down  upon  it  the  frisket ;  he  then  brings  them 
both,  together  with  the  paper,  upon  the  form,  which 
has  been  previously  inked.  He  next  turns  a  crank 
with  his  left  hand,  and  thereby  places  the  form  direct¬ 
ly  under  the  platen ,  which  is  immediately  brought,  in 
a  perpendicular  direction,  upon  the  types,  by  means 
of  a  lever  pulled  with  his  right  hand. 

32.  After  the  impression  has  been  thus  communi¬ 
cated,  the  form  is  returned  to  its  former  position,  and 
the  printed  sheet  is  removed.  The  operation  just 
described,  is  repeated  for  each  side  of  every  sheet  of 
the  edition.  In  the  cut  at  the  head  of  this  article, 
the  pressman  is  represented  as  in  the  act  of  turning 
down  the  frisket  upon  the  tympan.  The  business  of 
the  boy  behind  the  press  is  to  apply  the  ink  to  the 
types  by  means  of  the  rollers  before  him.  In  offices 
where  much  printing  is  executed,  the  roller-boy  is 
now  dispensed  with,  simple  machinery,  attached  to  the 
crank  of  the  press,  called  a  patent  roller-boy ,  being 
substituted  in  his  place. 

33.  Within  the  present  century,  great  improve¬ 
ments  have  been  made  in  the  printing  business  gen¬ 
erally,  especially  in  the  presses,  and  in  the  means  of 
applying  the  ink.  In  the  old  Ramage  press,  the  pow¬ 
er  was  derived  from  a  screw  which  was  moved  by  a 
lever  ;  but,  in  those  by  several  late  inventors,  from  an 
accumulation  of  levers. 

34.  In  1814,  printing  by  machinery  was  commen¬ 
ced  in  London,  and  rollers  became  necessary  for  ink¬ 
ing  the  forms.  These  were  made  of  molasses,  glue, 
and  tar,  in  proportions  to  suit  the  temperature  of  the 
weather.  From  these  originated  composition  balls 
in  the  following  year,  and  in  1819,  hand  rollers.  For- 


72 


THE  PRINTER. 


merly  the  ink  was  applied  by  means  of  pelt  balls  stuff¬ 
ed  with  wool. 

35.  The  power-press  first  used  in  this  country,  was 
invented,  in  1823,  by  Mr.  Treadwell,  a  scientific  me¬ 
chanic,  of  Boston,  who  was  originally  a  watch-maker 
by  trade.  It  acts  on  the  same  principle  with  the  hand 
press,  and  is  equal  to  three  of  these  of  the  best  con¬ 
struction.  Daniel  Fanshaw,  who  first  applied  steam  to 
printing  in  the  United  States,  introduced  several  of 
these  presses  into  New-York,  in  1826.  Messrs. 
Adams  and  Tufts,  of  Boston,  have  each  invented  a 
power-press  which  act  on  the  same  principle  with 
Mr.  Treadwell’s. 

36.  The  presses  noticed  in  the  preceding  paragraph, 
are  used  chiefly  in  printing  books  and  periodicals  re¬ 
quiring  moderate  speed  in  their  production.  But  they 
do  not  answer  the  purposes  of  the  daily  press  in  large 
cities,  where  from  twenty  thousand  to  sixty  thousand 
impressions  of  a  single  paper  are  required  every  day. 
To  supply  this  immense  demand  of  the  public  was  the 
original  aim  of  the  inventors  of  power-presses  in  Eng¬ 
land.  The  first  attempt  to  construct  a  printing  ma¬ 
chine  was  made,  in  1790,  by  William  Nicholson,  ol 
London  ;  but  his  machine  was  never  brought  into  use. 
The  next  attempt  was  made  by  Mr.  Konig,  an  ingeni¬ 
ous  German,  who  but  partially  succeeded.  The  first 
really  useful  machine  was  constructed  by  Messrs.  Ap¬ 
plegate  and  Cowper. 

37.  The  machines  used  in  this  country  are  modifi¬ 
cations  of  that  originally  invented  by  Mr.  Napier,  of 
England.  The  paper  is  brought  in  contact  with  the 
form  of  types  by  means  of  a  cylinder,  while  the  form 
is  passing  underneath  it.  The  press  is  constructed 
with  one  or  two  cylinders.  A  double  cylinder  press 
will  give  from  4000  to  6000  impressions  an  hour. 
The  improvements  on  this  press  were  made  by 
Robert  Hoe  &  Co.,  who  have  permitted  Mr.  Napier 
to  introduce  them  into  his  press  in  England. 


THE  TYPE-FOUNDER. 

1.  The  types  cast  by  the  type-founder  are  oblong 
square  pieces  of  metal,  each  having,  on  one  end  of  it, 
a  letter  or  character  in  relief.  The  metal  of  which 
these  important  instruments  are  composed,  is  common¬ 
ly  an  alloy  consisting  principally  of  lead  and  antimo¬ 
ny,  in  the  proportion  of  about  five  parts  of  the  former 
to  one  of  the  latter.  This  alloy  melts  at  a  low  tem¬ 
perature,  and  receives  and  retains  with  accuracy  the 
shape  of  the  mould.  Several  hundred  pounds  of  type- 
metal  are  prepared  at  a  time,  and  cast  into  bars  filled 
with  notches,  that  they  may  be  easily  broken  into  pie¬ 
ces,  when  about  to  be  applied  to  use. 

2.  In  making  types,  the  letter  or  character  is  first 
formed,  by  means  of  gravers  and  other  tools,  on  the 
end  of  a  steel  punch.  With  this  instrument,  a  matrix 

II.— G 


74 


THE  TYPE-FOUNDER. 


is  formed,  by  driving  it  into  a  piece  of  copper  of  suit¬ 
able  size.  A  punch  and  matrix  are  required  for  ev¬ 
ery  character  used  in  printing.  A  metallic  mould 
for  the  body  of  the  type  is  also  made ;  and,  that  the 
workman  may  handle  it  without  burning  his  hands,  it 
is  surrounded  with  a  portion  of  wood.  The  mould  is 
composed  of  two  parts,  which  can  be  closed  and  sep¬ 
arated  with  the  greatest  facility. 

3.  The  type-metal  is  prepared  for  immediate  use 
by  melting  it,  as  fast  as  it  may  be  needed,  in  a  small 
crucible,  over  a  coal  fire.  The  caster  having  placed 
the  matrix  in  the  bottom  of  the  mould,  commences 
the  operation  of  casting  by  pouring  the  metal  into  the 
mould  with  a  small  ladle.  This  he  performs  with  his 
right  hand,  while  with  the  other  he  throws  up  the 
mould  with  a  sudden  jerk  ;  then,  with  both  hands  he 
opens  it,  and  throws  out  the  type.  All  these  move- 
ments  are  performed  with  such  rapidity,  that  an  ex¬ 
pert  hand  can  cast  about  fifty  types  of  a  common  size 
in  a  minute.  Some  machines  have  been  lately  intro¬ 
duced,  which  operate  with  still  greater  rapidity. 

4.  Each  type,  when  thrown  from  the  mould,  has 
attached  to  it  a  superfluous  portion  of  metal,  called  a 
jet ,  which  is  afterwards  broken  off  by  hand.  The 
jets  are  again  cast  into  the  pot,  or  crucible,  and  the 
types  are  carried  to  another  room,  where  the  two 
broad  sides  are  rubbed  on  a  grindstone.  They  are 
next  arranged  on  flat  sticks  about  three  feet  long,  and 
delivered  to  the  dresser ,  who  scrapes  the  two  sides 
not  before  made  smooth  on  the  grindstone,  cuts  a 
groove  on  the  end  opposite  the  letter,  and  rejects  from 
the  row  the  types  which  may  be  defective. 

5.  The  whole  process  is  completed  by  setting  up 
the  types  in  a  printer’s  composing-stick,  and  tying 
them  up  with  packthread.  Much  of  the  work  in  the 
type-foundry  is  performed  by  boys  and  females.  In 
the  preceding  cut  are  represented  a  man  casting  types 


THE  T  Y  P  E-F  Ol'NDER. 


75 


at  a  furnace,  and  a  boy  breaking  off  the  jets  ;  also  two 
females  rubbing  types  on  a  large  grindstone.  The 
fumes  arising  from  melted  lead  in  the  casting-room  are 
considered  deleterious  to  health. 

6.  Various  sizes  of  the  same  kind  of  letter  are  ex¬ 
tensively  used,  of  which  the  following  are  most  em¬ 
ployed  in  printing  books — Pica,  Small  Pica,  Long 
Primer,  Bourgeois,  Brevier,  Minion,  Nonpareil,  Pearl, 
and  Diamond.  A  full  assortment  of  any  particular 
size  is  called  a  fount,  which  may  consist  of  any 
amount,  from  five  pounds  to  five  hundred,  or  more. 
The  master  type-founder  usually  supplies  the  printer 
with  all  the  materials  of  his  art,  embracing  not  only 
types,  leads,  brass  rules,  and  ordinary  ornaments,  but 
also  cases,  composing-sticks,  galleys,  printing-presses, 
and  other  articles  too  numerous  to  be  mentioned. 

7.  The  inventor  of  the  art  of  casting  types  was 
Peter  Shoeffer,  first  servant  or  workman  employed  by 
Guttemburg  and  Faust.  He  privately  cut  a  matrix  for 
each  letter  of  the  alphabet,  and  cast  a  quantity  of  the 
types.  Having  shown  the  products  of  his  ingenuity 
to  Faust,  the  latter  was  so  much  delighted  with  the 
contrivance,  that  he  made  him  a  partner  in  the  print¬ 
ing  business,  and  gave  him  his  only  daughter,  Chris¬ 
tina,  in  marriage. 

8.  The  character  first  employed  was  a  rude  old 
Gothic,  mixed  with  secretary,  designed  on  purpose  to 
imitate  the  hand-writing  of  those  times,  and  the  first 
used  in  England  were  of  this  kind.  To  these  suc¬ 
ceeded  what  is  termed  old  English,  or  black  letter , 
which  is  still  occasionally  applied  to  some  purposes ; 
but  Roman  letter  is  now  the  national  character  not 
only  of  England,  but  of  France,  Spain,  Portugal,  and 
Italy.  In  Germany,  and  in  the  states  surrounding 
the  Baltic,  letters  are  used  which  owe  their  foundation 
to  the  Gothic,  although  works  are  occasionally  print¬ 
ed  for  the  learned  in  Roman. 


76 


THE  T  Y  P  E-F  OUNDER. 


9.  The  Roman  letter  owes  it  origin  to  the  nation 
whence  it  derives  its  name,  although  the  faces  of  the 
present  and  ancient  Roman  letters  differ  materially, 
on  account  of  the  improvements  which  they  have  un¬ 
dergone  at  various  times.  For  the  invention  of  the 
Italic  character,  we  are  indebted  to  Aldus  Manutius, 
who  set  up  a  printing-office  in  Venice,  in  1496,  where 
he  also  introduced  Roman  types  of  a  neater  cut. 

10.  Before  the  American  revolution,  type-founding 
was  carried  on  at  Germantown,  Pennsylvania,  by 
Christopher  Sower,  at  Boston  by  Mr.  Michelson,  and 
in  Connecticut  by  Mr.  Buel ;  but  there  was  too  little 
demand  for  types,  to  afford  these  enterprising  individ¬ 
uals  much  patronage.  Soon  after  the  close  of  the 
revolution,  John  Baine  established  a  foundery  in  Phil¬ 
adelphia.  The  printers,  however,  were  not  supplied 
with  every  necessary  material  and  implement  of  the 
art  from  American  founderies,  until  1796,  when 
Messrs.  Binny  &  Ronaldson  commenced  the  business 
in  the  same  city.  Baine  and  Ronaldson  were  both 
from  Edinburgh,  Scotland.  The  first  type-foundery 
was  established  in  New-York,  in  1809,  by  Robert 
Lothian,  a  Scotch  clergyman,  and  father  of  the  in¬ 
genious  type-founder,  George  B.  Lothian. 

11.  In  the  year  1827,  William  M.  Johnson,  of  New- 
York,  invented  the  machine  for  casting  types  now  used 
by  John  T.  White,  and  irl  1838,  David  Bruce,  Junr., 
produced  another,  which  was  purchased  by  George 
Bruce.  George  B.  Lothian  has  also  lately  invented  a 
machine  for  the  same  purpose,  and  likewise  one  for 
reducing  types  to  an  equal  thickness.  Both  of  these 
machines  act  with  great  accuracy.  There  are  now 
in  the  United  States  sixteen  type-founderies  ;  viz., 
two  in  Boston,  six  in  New-York,  three  in  Philadelphia, 
one  in  Baltimore,  one  in  Pittsburg,  one  in  Cincinnati, 
one  in  Louisville,  and  one  in  St.  Louis. 


THE  STEREOTYPER. 


1.  The  word  stereotype  is  derived  from  two  Greek 
words — stereos ,  solid,  and  tupos,  a  type.  It  is  appli¬ 
ed  to  pages  of  types  in  a  single  piece,  which  have  been 
cast  in  moulds  formed  on  common  printing  types  or 
wood-cuts.  They  are  composed  of  lead  and  antimo¬ 
ny,  in  the  proportion  of  about  six  parts  of  the  former 
to  one  of  the  latter.  Sometimes  a  little  tin  is  added. 

2.  The  types  are  set  up  by  compositors ,  as  usual  in 
printing,  and  imposed ,  or  locked  up,  one  or  several 
pages  together,  in  an  iron  chase  of  a  suitable  size. 
Having  been  sent  to  the  casting-room ,  the  types  are 
slightly  oiled,  and  surrounded  with  a  frame  of  brass 
or  type-metal.  They  are  then  covered  with  a  thin 
mixture  of  finely  pulverized  plaster  and  water.  In 
about  ten  minutes,  the  plaster  becomes  hard  enough 
to  be  removed. 

G  2 


78 


THE  STEREOTYPER. 


3.  The  mould,  thus  formed,  having  been  baked  in 
an  oven,  is  placed  in  an  iron  pan  of  an  oblong  shape, 
and  sunk  into  a  kettle  of  the  melted  composition  above 
mentioned,  which  is  admitted  at  the  four  corners  of 
the  cover  to  the  cavities  of  the  mould  beneath.  The 
pan  is  then  raised  from  the  kettle,  and  placed  over 
water.  When  the  metal  has  become  cool,  the  con¬ 
tents  of  the  pan  are  removed,  and  the  plaster  is  bro¬ 
ken  and  washed  from  the  plate. 

4.  As  fast  as  the  pages  are  cast,  they  are  sent  to 
th e  finishing -room.  Here  they  are  first  planed  on  the 
back  with  a  machine,  for  the  purpose  of  making  them 
level  and  of  an  equal  thickness.  The  letters  are  then 
examined,  and,  when  deficient,  are  rendered  perfect 
by  little  steel  instruments  called  picks.  Corrections 
and  alterations  are  made  by  cutting  out  original  lines, 
and  inserting  common  printing  types,  or  lines  stereo¬ 
typed  for  the  purpose.  The  types  are  cut  off  close 
to  the  back  with  pincers,  and  fastened  to  the  place 
with  solder.  The  plates,  when  they  are  finished,  are 
about  one-sixth  of  an  inch  in  thickness. 

5.  When  all  the  pages  of  a  work  have  been  com¬ 
pleted,  they  are  packed  in  boxes,  which  are  marked 
with  certain  letters  of  the  alphabet,  to  indicate  the 
form  or  pages  which  they  contain.  While  the  pages 
are  applied  in  printing,  they  are  fastened  to  blocks  of 
solid  wood,  which,  with  the  plates,  are  intended  to  be 
the  same  in  height  with  common  types. 

6.  The  first  stereotype  plates  were  cast  by  J.  Van 
der  Mey,  a  Dutchman,  who  resided  at  Leyden  about 
the  year  1700.  A  quarto  and  folio  Bible,  and  two  or 
three  small  works,  were  printed  from  pages  of  his 
casting ;  but  at  his  death,  the  art  appears  to  have 
been  lost,  although  the  plates  of  these  two  Bibles  are 
still  extant,  the  former  at  Leyden,  and  the  latter  at 
Amsterdam. 

7.  In  1725,  William  Ged,  of  Edinburgh,  without 


THE  STEREOTYPER. 


79 


knowing  what  had  been  done  in  Holland  by  Van  der 
Mey,  began  to  make  stereotype  plates.  But  being 
unable  to  prosecute  the  business  alone  for  want  of 
funds,  he  united  in  partnership  with  three  others. 
One  of  the  partners  being  a  type-founder,  supposing 
that  success  in  the  enterprise  would  injure  his  busi¬ 
ness,  employed  men  to  compose  and  print  the  propo¬ 
sed  works  in  a  manner  that  he  thought  most  likely  to 
spoil  them. 

8.  Accordingly,  the  compositors,  while  correcting 
one  error  in  the  proof,  made  intentionally  several 
more  ;  and  the  pressmen  battered  the  letter,  while 
printing  the  books.  By  these  dishonest  and  malicious 
proceedings,  the  useful  enterprise  of  Mr.  Ged  was  de¬ 
feated.  He,  however,  afterwards  printed,  in  an  accu¬ 
rate  manner,  two  or  three  works.  The  first  of  these 
was  a  Sallust,  the  pages  of  which  were  set  up  by  his 
son,  James  Ged,  who  was  but  an  apprentice  to  the 
printing-business.  This  part  of  the  work  was  per¬ 
formed  in  the  night,  when  the  workmen  were  absent 
from  the  office. 

9.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Ged,  no  attention  was 
paid  to  the  art,  and  a  knowledge  of  it  was  lost  at  the 
decease  of  his  son,  which  took  place,  about  the  year 
1771 :  but  it  was  a  third  time  invented  by  Alexander 
Tilloch,  Esq.,  who,  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Foulis, 
printer  to  the  University  of  Glasgow,  made  many  ex¬ 
periments,  until  plates  were  produced  yielding  im¬ 
pressions  which  could  not  be  distinguished  from  those 
of  the  types  from  which  they  had  been  cast.  But 
owing  to  circumstances  unconnected  with  the  real 
utility  of  the  art,  the  business  was  not  prosecuted  to  a 
great  extent. 

10.  About  the  year  1804,  the  art  was  again  revived 
by  the  late  Earl  Stanhope,  assisted  by  Mr.  A.  Wil¬ 
son,  a  printer,  who  turned  his  whole  attention  that 
way.  In  their  efforts  to  complete  the  invention,  they 


80 


THE  STEREOTYPER. 


were  assisted  by  Messrs.  Tilloch  and  Foulis ;  and, 
although  they  succeeded  after  many  experiments,  they 
were  strenuously  opposed  in  their  efforts  to  introduce 
the  practice,  the  printers  supposing,  perhaps  with 
some  reason,  that  it  would  prove  injurious  to  their 
business. 

11.  This  useful  art  was  introduced  into  the  United 
States  by  J.  Watts,  an  Englishman  from  London, 
who  had  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  process  from 
A.  Wilson.  He  entered  into  a  partnership  with  Jo¬ 
seph  D.  Fay  and  Pierre  C.  Van  Wyck,  Esquires. 
They  first  stereotyped  the  Westminster  Catechism, 
which  was  printed  by  J.  Watts  &  Co.,  for  Messrs. 
Whiting  &  Watson,  in  1813.  They  also  stereotyped 
a  New  Testament.  But  the  business  proving  to  be 
unproductive,  Fay  and  Van  Wyck  retired  from  the 
concern.  Watts  afterwards  stereotyped  about  one 
third  of  an  octavo  Bible.  The  moulding  of  all  the 
plates  produced  in  Watts’s  foundery  was  executed  by 
Mrs.  Watts.  On  the  21st  of  March,  1815,  Watts  sold 
all  his  plates,  together  with  his  materials  and  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  process,  to  B.  S.  and  J.  B.  Collins,  for 
$6500.  The  Messrs.  Collins  afterwards  carried  on 
the  business  successfully. 

12.  In  1812,  David  Bruce  went  to  England  for  the 
express  purpose  of  obtaining  a  knowledge  of  the  art, 
as  it  was  kept  a  profound  secret  by  Watts  ;  and  having 
learned  the  method  of  one  Nicholson,  of  Liverpool,  and 
having  also  acquired  some  knowledge  of  Earl  Stan¬ 
hope’s  plan,  he  returned  to  New-York,  and  commen¬ 
ced  stereotyping,  in  conjunction  with  his  brother, 
George  Bruce,  in  the  year  1813.  They  soon  com¬ 
pleted  two  setts  of  12mo  plates  for  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment,  one  of  which  they  sold  to  Matthew  Carey,  Nov. 
8,  1814.  Soon  afterwards,  they  finished  the  whole 
Bible.  David  Bruce  invented  the  machine  for  planing 
the  plates,  in  1815. 


THE  PAPER-MAKER,  AND  THE  BOOKBINDER. 


THE  PAPER-MAKER. 

1.  The  materials  on  which  writing  was  executed, 
in  the  early  days  of  the  art,  were  the  leaves  and  bark 
of  trees  and  plants,  stones,  bricks,  sheets  of'lead,  cop¬ 
per,  and  brass,  as  well  as  plates  of  ivory,  wooden  tab¬ 
lets,  and  cotton  and  linen  cloth. 

2.  The  instruments  with  which  writing  was  prac¬ 
tised  were  adapted  to  the  substance  on  which  it  was 
to  be  formed.  The  stylus ,  which  the  Romans  em¬ 
ployed  in  writing  on  metallic  tablets  covered  with 
wax,  was  made  of  iron,  acute  at  one  end,  for  forming 
the  letters,  and  flat  or  round  at  the  other,  for  erasing 
what  may  have  been  erroneously  written. 

3.  For  writing  with  ink,  the  calamus ,  a  kind  of 
reed,  sharpened  at  the  point,  and  split  like  our  pens, 


82 


THE  PAPE  R*M  AKER. 


was  used.  Some  of  the  Eastern  nations  still  write 
with  bamboos  and  canes.  The  Chinese  inscribe  their 
characters  with  small  brushes  similar  to  camel’s  hair 
pencils.  We  have  no  certain  evidence  of  the  appli¬ 
cation  of  quills  to  this  purpose  until  the  seventh  cen¬ 
tury. 

4.  As  the  literature  of  antiquity  advanced,  a  mate¬ 
rial  adapted  to  works  of  magnitude  became  necessary, 
and  this  was  found  both  in  the  skins  of  animals,  and 
in  the  celebrated  plant  papyrus,  of  Egypt;  but  the 
time  when  they  were  first  applied  to  this  purpose  can¬ 
not  be  determined,  although  it  is  probable  that  the 
former  has  the  preference  as  regards  priority. 

5.  The  papyrus  was  an  aquatic  plant,  which  grew 
upon  the  banks  of  the  Nile.  In  the  manufacture  of 
paper  from  this  reed,  it  was  divested  of  its  outer  cov¬ 
ering,  and  the  internal  layers,  or  laminae,  were  sep¬ 
arated  with  the  point  of  a  needle  or  knife.  These 
layers  were  spread  parallel  to  each  other  on  a  table, 
in  sufficient  numbers  to  form  a  sheet ;  a  second  layer 
was  then  laid  with  the  strips  crossing  those  of  the 
first  at  right  angles  ;  and  the  whole  having  been  moist¬ 
ened  with  water,  was  subjected  to  pressure  between 
metallic  surfaces.  The  pressure,  aided  by  a  glutinous 
substance  in  the  plant,  caused  the  several  pieces  to 
become  one  uniform  sheet. 

6.  Parchment  was  manufactured  from  the  skins  of 
sheep  and  goats.  In  the  preparation,  these  were  first 
steeped  in  water  impregnated  with  lime,  and  after¬ 
wards  stretched  upon  frames,  and  reduced  by  scraping 
with  sharp  instruments.  They  were  finished  by  the 
application  of  chalk,  and  by  rubbing  them  with  pum¬ 
ice-stone.  The  skins  of  very  young  calves,  dressed 
in  a  similar  manner,  was  called  vellum.  Parchment 
and  vellum  are  still  used  for  deeds  and  other  impor¬ 
tant  documents. 

7.  When  Attalus,  about  200  years  before  Christ, 


THE  PAPE  R-M  AKER. 


83 


was  about  to  found  a  library  at  Pergamus,  which 
should  rival  that  of  Alexandria,  one  of  the  Ptolemies, 
then  king  of  Egypt,  jealous  of  his  success,  prohibited 
the  exportation  of  papyrus ;  but  the  spirited  inhabi¬ 
tants  of  Pergamus  manufactured  parchment  as  a  sub¬ 
stitute,  and  formed  their  library  principally  of  manu¬ 
scripts  on  this  material.  From  this  fact,  it  received 
the  name  of  Pergamena  among  the  Romans,  who  gave 
it  also  the  appellation  of  Membrana. 

8.  The  greatest  quantity  of  paper  was  manufac¬ 
tured  at  Alexandria,  and  the  commerce  in  this  article 
greatly  increased  the  wealth  of  that  city.  In  the  fifth 
century,  paper  was  rendered  very  dear  by  taxation ; 
and  this  probably  was  an  inducement  for  an  effort  to 
produce  a  substitute.  Accordingly,  in  the  eighth  cen¬ 
tury,  it  began  to  be  superseded  by  cotton  paper,  al¬ 
though  it  continued  in  use  in  some  parts  of  Europe, 
until  three  hundred  years  after  the  period  last  men¬ 
tioned. 

9.  The  manufacture  of  cotton  paper  was  intro¬ 
duced  into  Spain,  in  the  eleventh  century,  by  the  Ara¬ 
bians,  who  became  acquainted  with  it  in  Bucharia  as 
early  as  A.D.  704.  About  the  year  1300,  it  was 
commenced  in  Italy,  France,  and  Germany;  and,  in 
some  of  the  paper-mills  of  these  countries,  paper  was 
made  from  cotton  rags.  Linen  paper  is  thought  to 
have  originated  in  Germany,  about  the  year  1318. 

10.  The  first  paper-mill  in  England  was  erected 
by  a  German,  named  Spillman,  in  1588  ;  but  no  paper, 
except  the  coarse  brown  sorts,  was  made  in  that  coun¬ 
try,  until  about  the  year  1690.  The  finer  kinds,  both 
for  writing  and  printing,  were,  before  that  time,  im¬ 
ported  from  the  Continent.  But  the  paper  of  English 
manufacture  will  now  compare  with  that  of  any  other 
country.  The  French  also  make  very  fine  paper. 

11.  In  the  United  States,  this  manufacture  has  rap¬ 
idly  increased  in  amount  within  a  few  years.  Ac- 


84 


THE  PAPE  R-M  AKER. 


cording  to  an  estimate  made  in  1829,  it  appears  that 
the  whole  annual  product  of  the  mills  is  worth  be¬ 
tween  five  and  seven  millions  of  dollars,  and  that  the 
rags  collected  in  this  country  amount  to  about  two 
millions.  The  number  of  hands  employed  in  the  bu¬ 
siness  are  ten  or  eleven  thousand,  of  whom  about  one- 
half  were  females.  The  manufacture  has  since  been 
considerably  increased,  although  the  number  of  oper¬ 
atives  may  have  been  diminished,  on  account  of  the 
introduction  of  improved  machinery. 

12.  Nature  has  supplied  us  with  a  great  variety  of 
substances  from  which  paper  may  be  fabricated,  as 
flax,  hemp,  cotton,  straw,  grass,  and  the  bark  of  sev¬ 
eral  kinds  of  trees ;  but  the  fibres  of  the  three  first 
productions,  in  the  form  of  rags,  are  the  most  usual 
materials.  Most  of  these  are  primarily  purchased 
from  the  people  at  large,  by  retail  booksellers,  country 
merchants,  and  pedlers,  who  in  turn  dispose  of  them 
to  persons  called  rag-merchants,  or  directly  to  the  pa¬ 
per-makers.  When  the  rags  come  from  the  original 
collectors,  all  kinds  are  mixed  together ;  but  they  are 
assorted  according  to  their  color  and  the  nature  of 
their  original  fibre,  either  by  the  rag-merchants,  or 
by  the  paper-makers  themselves. 

13.  In  our  attempts  to  afford  the  reader  an  idea  of 
this  manufacture  in  general,  letter-paper  has  been  se¬ 
lected,  as  affording  the  best  means  of  illustration  ; 
since  for  this  kind  of  paper,  the  best  stock  is  employ¬ 
ed,  and  the  greatest  skill  is  exerted  in  every  stage  of 
the  process. 

14.  The  process  of  the  manufacture  is  commenced 
by  cutting  the  rags  into  small  pieces,  by  the  aid  of  a 
sharp  instrument,  commonly  a  piece  of  a  scythe, 
which  is  placed  in  a  position  nearly  perpendicular 
before  the  operator.  In  the  reduction  of  very  coarse 
rags,  such  as  sail-cloth,  a  cutting  machine  is  also  em¬ 
ployed.  Then,  with  the  view  of  sifting  out  the  loose 


THE  PAPER-MAKER. 


85 


particles  of  dirt,  the  rags  are  deposited  in  a  large  oc¬ 
tagonal  sieve  made  of  coarse  wire,  and  placed  in  a 
close  box  in  a  horizontal  position.  The  sieve  is 
moved  by  machinery,  like  the  bolt  of  a  flour-mill. 

15.  The  second  stage  of  the  process  consists  chiefly 
in  the  reduction  of  the  rags  to  a  pulp .  This  is  effect¬ 
ed  by  the  action  of  a  cutting  machine,  the  essential 
parts  of  which  are  two  sets  of  blunt  knives,  the  one 
stationary,  and  the  other  revolving.  The  machine  is 
placed  in  a  large  elliptical  tub,  in  which  the  rags  are 
also  deposited,  with  a  suitable  quantity  of  water. 
The  liquid  and  fibrous  contents  of  the  tub  are  kept 
moving  in  a  circle  by  the  action  of  the  machine, 
through  which  it  passes  at  one  point  of  its  revolution. 

16.  The  maceration  occupies  from  ten  to  twenty 
hours,  according  as  the  material  is  more  or  less  rigid  ; 
and,  during  part  of  this  time,  water  is  permitted  to 
run  in  at  one  side  of  the  tub,  and  out  at  the  other,  to 
render  the  pulp  perfectly  clean.  Towards  the  close 
of  this  process,  the  pulp,  if  necessary,  is  bleached  by 
means  of  chloride  of  lime,  and  oil  of  vitriol.  It  is 
also  sometimes  colored  by  adding  a  quantity  of  dye¬ 
stuff*.  The  bleaching  and  coloring  are  effected  with¬ 
out  interrupting  the  action  of  the  machine.  The 
rags  having  been  thus  reduced,  the  pulp,  together  with 
a  suitable  quantity  of  water,  is  let  out  into  a  reser¬ 
voir,  from  which  it  is  drawn  off  into  a  vat,  as  fast  as 
it  may  be  needed  for  the  production  of  the  paper. 

17.  With  this  vat  is  connected  the  paper-making 
machine  ;  and  the  part  of  the  latter  which  first  comes 
in  contact  with  the  material  is  a  hollow  cylinder,  sur¬ 
rounded  with  a  fine  web  of  wire-cloth.  This  cylin¬ 
der  being  immersed  in  the  contents  of  the  vat  more 
than  one-half  of  its  diameter,  the  water  passes  off 
with  a  uniform  rapidity,  and  the  fibrous  particles 
which  had  been  suspended  in  it,  settle  with  a  remark¬ 
able  uniformity  on  the  outside  of  the  brazen  web.  As 

II.— H 


86 


THE  PAPE  R-M  AKER. 


the  cylinder  revolves,  a  continued  sheet  is  produced, 
which  is  taken  up  by  an  endless  web  of  woollen  cloth, 
and  carried  round  another  cylinder  of  equal  diameter, 
and  then  between  two  more,  by  which  it  is  partially 
pressed. 

18.  From  between  these  rollers,  the  paper  passes 
out,  in  a  continued  sheet,  upon  a  large  cylindrical 
reel,  called  the  lay-loy ;  and  when  a  certain  quantity  of 
it,  which  is  determined  by  a  gauge,  has  been  accumu- 
lated,  the  lay-boy  is  removed  to  a  low  table.  The 
paper  is  then  cut,  with  a  toothless  handsaw,  into 
sheets  twice  the  size  of  letter-paper.  This  part  of 
the  operation  is  very  quickly  performed,  as  a  work¬ 
man  can  cut  up  and  pile  in  heaps,  to  be  pressed, 
twenty  reams  in  half  that  number  of  minutes,  and 
attend  to  the  machine  at  the  same  time. 

19.  After  the  paper  has  been  successively  pressed, 
and  handled  by  separating  the  sheets  two  or  three 
times,  it  is  hung  up  on  small  poles,  in  an  airy  room,  to 
be  dried ;  and  having  been  again  pressed,  it  is  sized 
by  holding  a  quantity  of  the  sheets  at  a  time  in  a  thin 
solution  of  glue  and  alum,  the  former  of  which  is 
prepared  in  the  paper-mill  for  the  purpose,  from  shreds 
and  parings  of  raw  hides.  The  paper  is  freed  from 
superfluous  portions  of  the  size,  by  submitting  it  to 
the  action  of  a  press.  It  is  again  dried  as  before, 
and  again  pressed  ;  after  which,  the  several  sheets 
are  examined,  and  freed  from  lumps  and  other  extra¬ 
neous  substances. 

_  V 

20.  They  are  then  severed  in  half  with  a  cutting 
machine,  and  afterwards  calendered,  by  passing  the 
sheets  successively  between  rollers ;  or  they  are 
pressed  between  smooth  pasteboards.  In  the  latter 
case,  hot  metallic  plates  are  sometimes  interposed  be¬ 
tween  every  few  quires  of  the  sheets.  The  paper, 
when  treated  in  this  way,  is  called  hot-pressed.  It  is 
next  counted  off  into  half-quires,  put  up  into  reams 


THE  PAPE  R-M  AKER. 


87 


pressed,  trimmed,  and  finally  enveloped  in  two  thick 
sheets  of  paper,  which  completes  the  whole  process 
of  the  manufacture. 

21.  The  manufacture  of  paper,  as  just  described, 
seems  to  be  a  tedious  process  ;  yet  with  two  machines 
and  a  suitable  number  of  hands,  say  sixty  or  eighty, 
three  hundred  reams  of  letter-paper  can  be  produced 
from  the  raw  material  in  a  single  day.  It  is  hardly 
necessary  to  remark,  that  paper  is  of  various  quali¬ 
ties,  from  the  finest  bank-note  paper,  down  to  the 
coarsest  kinds  employed  in  wrapping  up  merchandise, 
and  that,  for  every  quality,  suitable  materials  are 
chosen.  The  process  of  the  manufacture  is  varied, 
of  course,  to  suit  the  materials.  None  but  writing 
and  drawing  paper  requires  to  be  sized. 

22.  Until  after  the  beginning  of  the  present  cen- 
tury,  paper  was  made  exclusively  by  hand ,  and  this 
method  is  still  continued  in  a  majority  of  the  mills  in 
the  United  States,  although  it  is  rapidly  going  out  of 
use.  It  differs  from  that  just  described  chiefly  in  the 
manner  of  collecting  the  pulp  to  form  the  paper,  this 
being  effected  by  means  of  a  mould ,  a  frame  of  wood 
with  a  fine  wire  bottom,  of  the  size  of  the  proposed 
sheet.  In  the  use  of  this  instrument,  a  quantity  of 
the  pulp  is  taken  up,  and  while  the  vatman ,  or  dipper , 
holds  it  in  a  horizontal  position,  and  gives  it  a  gentle 
shaking,  the  water  runs  out  through  the  interstices  of 
the  wire,  and  leaves  the  fibrous  particles  upon  the 
mould  in  the  form  of  a  sheet.  The  sheets  thus  pro- 
duced  are  pressed  between  felts,  and  afterwards  treat¬ 
ed  as  if  they  had  been  formed  by  means  of  a  machine. 

23.  The  first  idea  of  forming  paper  in  a  continued 
sheet  originated  in  France ;  but  a  machine  for  this 
purpose  is  said  to  have  been  first  made  completely 
successful  in  England,  by  Henry  and  Sealy  Fourdri- 
nier.  Many  machines  made  after  their  model,  as  well 
as  those  of  a  different  construction,  are  in  use  in  the 


88 


THE  BOO  K-B  INDER. 


United  States,  to  some  of  which  is  attached  an  ap¬ 
paratus  for  drying,  sizing,  and  pressing  the  paper,  as 
well  as  for  cutting  it  to  the  proper  size.  Very  few  ma¬ 
chines,  however,  yield  paper  equal  in  firmness  and  te¬ 
nacity  to  that  produced  by  hand. 

THE  BOOKBINDER. 

1.  Bookbinding  is  the  art  of  arranging  the  pages 
of  a  book  in  proper  order,  and  confining  them  there 
by  means  of  thread,  glue,  paste,  pasteboard,  and 
leather. 

2.  This  art  is  probably  as  ancient  as  that  of  wri¬ 
ting  books  ;  for,  whatever  may  have  been  the  sub¬ 
stance  on  which  the  work  was  executed,  some  method 
of  uniting  the  parts  was  absolutely  necessary.  The 
earliest  method  with  which  we  are  acquainted,  is  that 
of  gluing  the  sheets  together,  and  rolling  them  upon 
small  cylinders.  This  mode  is  still  practised  in  some 
countries.  It  is  also  everywhere  used  by  the  Jews, 
so  far  as  relates  to  one  copy  of  their  law  deposited  in 
each  of  their  synagogues. 

3.  The  name  Egyptian  is  applied  to  this  kind  of 
binding,  and  this  would  seem  to  indicate  the  place  of 
its  origin.  Each  volume  had  two  rollers,  so  that  the 
continued  sheet  could  be  wound  from  one  to  the  other 
at  pleasure.  The  square,  or  present  form  of  binding, 
is  also  of  great  antiquity,  as  it  is  supposed  to  have 
been  invented  at  Pergamus,  about  200  years  before 
Christ,  by  King  Attalus,  who,  with  his  son  Eumenes, 
established  the  famous  library  in  that  city. 

4.  The  first  process  of  binding  books  consists  in 
folding  the  sheets  according  to  the  paging.  This  is 
done  by  the  aid  of  an  ivory  knife,  called  a  folder ;  and 
the  operator  is  guided  in  the  correct  performance  of 
the  work  by  certain  letters  called  signatures,  placed 
at  the  bottom  of  the  page,  at  regular  intervals  through 
the  book. 


THE  BOOKBINDER. 


89 


5.  Piles  of  the  folded  sheets  are  then  placed  on  a 
long  table  in  the  order  of  their  signatures,  and  gather¬ 
ed,  one  from  each  pile,  for  every  book.  They  are 
next  beaten  on  a  stone,  or  passed  between  steel  roll¬ 
ers,  to  render  them  smooth  and  solid.  The  latter 
method  has  been  introduced  within  a  few  years.  This 
operation  certainly  increases  the  intrinsic  value  of  the 
book  ;  but  it  is  not  employed  in  every  case,  since  it 
is  attended  with  some  additional  expense,  and  since  it 
diminishes  the  thickness  of  the  book,  and  consequent¬ 
ly  its  value  in  the  estimation  of  the  public  at  large. 

6.  The  sheets,  having  been  properly  pressed,  are 
next  sewed  together  upon  little  cords,  which,  in  this 
application,  are  called  bands.  During  the  operation, 
these  are  stretched  in  a  perpendicular  direction,  at 
suitable  distances  from  each  other,  as  exhibited  in  the 
foregoing  cut.  The  folded  sheets  are  usually  notched 
on  the  back  by  means  of  a  saw,  and  at  these  points  they 
are  brought  in  juxta-position  with  the  bands.  After 
the  pages  of  several  volumes  have  been  accumulated, 
the  bands  are  severed  between  each  book.  The  fold¬ 
ing,  gathering,  and  sewing,  are  usually  performed  by 
females. 

7.  At  this  stage  of  the  process,  the  books  are  re¬ 
ceived  by  the  men  or  boys,  who  generally  take  on  one 
hundred  at  a  time.  The  workman  first  spreads  some 
glue  on  the  backs  of  each  book  with  a  brush.  He 
then  places  them,  one  after  the  other,  between  boards 
of  solid  wood,  and  beats  them  on  the  back  with  a  ham¬ 
mer.  By  this  means  the  back  is  rounded,  and  a 
groove  formed  on  each  side  for  the  admission  of  one 
edge  of  the  pasteboards. 

8.  These  having  been  applied,  and  partially  fastened 
by  means  of  the  bands,  which  had  been  left  long  for 
the  purpose,  the  boolts  are  pressed,  and  the  leaves  of 
which  they  are  composed  are  trimmed  with  an  instru¬ 
ment  called  a  ‘plough.  The  pasteboards  are  also  cut 

H  2 


90 


THE  BOOKBINDER. 


to  the  proper  size  by  the  same  means,  or  with  a  huge 
pair  of  shears.  In  the  preceding  picture,  a  workman 
is  represented  at  work  with  the  plough.  The  edges 
are  next  sprinkled  with  some  kind  of  coloring  matter, 
or  covered  with  gold  leaf.  A  strip  of  paper  is  then 
glued  on  the  back,  and  a  head-band  put  upon  each 
end. 

9.  The  book  is  now  ready  to  be  covered.  This  is 
done  either  with  calf,  sheep,  or  goat  skin,  or  some 
kind  of  paper  or  muslin  ;  but,  whatever  the  material 
may  be,  it  is  cut  into  pieces  to  suit  the  size  of  the 
book  ;  and,  having  been  smeared  on  one  side  with 
paste,  if  paper  or  leather,  or  with  glue,  if  muslin,  it  is 
drawn  over  the  outsides  of  the  pasteboards,  and  doub¬ 
led  in  upon  the  inside. 

10.  The  covers,  if  calf  or  sheep  skin,  are  next 
sprinkled  or  marbled.  The  first  operation  is  per¬ 
formed  by  dipping  the  brush  in  a  kind  of  dye,  made 
for  the  purpose,  and  beating  it  with  one  hand  over  a 
stick  held  in  the  other;  the  second  is  performed  in 
the  same  manner,  with  the  difference  that  they  are 
sprinkled  first  with  water,  and  then  with  the  coloring 
matter. 

11.  After  a  small  piece  of  morocco  has  been  past¬ 
ed  on  the  back,  on  which  the  title  is  to  be  printed  in 
gold  leaf,  and  one  of  the  waste  leaves  has  been  pasted 
down  on  the  inside  of  each  of  the  covers,  the  books 
are  pressed  for  the  last  time.  They  are  then  glazed 
by  applying  the  white  of  an  egg  with  a  sponge. 

12.  The  books  are  now  ready  for  the  reception  of 
the  ornaments,  which  consist  chiefly  of  letters  and 

•  other  figures  in  gold  leaf.  In  executing  this  part  of 
the  process,  the  workman  cuts  the  gold  into  suitable 
strips  or  squares  on  a  cushion. 

13.  These  are  laid  upon  the  books  by  means  of  a 
piece  of  raw  cotton,  and  afterwards  impressed  with 
types  moderately  heated  over  a  charcoal  fire ;  or  the 


THE  BOOKBINDER. 


91 


strips  of  gold  are  taken  up,  and  laid  upon  the  proper 
place  with  instruments  called  stamps  and  rolls ,  which 
have  on  them  figures  in  relief.  The  portion  of  the 
leaf  not  impressed  with  the  figures  on  the  tools,  is 
easily  removed  with  a  silk  rag.  The  books  are  finish¬ 
ed  by  applying  to  the  covers  the  white  of  an  egg,  and 
rubbing  them  with  a  heated  steel  polisher . 

14.  The  process  of  binding  books,  as  just  described, 
is  varied,  of  course,  in  some  particulars,  to  suit  the 
different  kinds  of  binding  and  finish.  A  book  stitched 
together  like  a  common  almanac,  is  called  a  pamphlet. 
Those  which  are  covered  on  the  back  and  sides  with 
leather,  are  said  to  be  full-bound ;  and  those  which 
have  their  backs  covered  with  leather,  and  the  sides 
with  paper,  half  bound, 

15.  The  different  sizes  of  books  are  expressed  by 
terms  indicative  of  the  number  of  pages  printed  on 
one  side  of  a  sheet  of  paper ;  thus,  when  two  pages  are 
printed  on  one  side,  the  book  is  termed  a  folio  ;  four 
pages,  a  quarto ;  eight  pages,  an  octavo ;  twelve  pages, 
a  duodecimo  ;  eighteen  pages,  an  octodecimo.  All  of 
these  terms,  except  the  first,  are  abridged  by  prefixing 
a  figure  or  figures  to  the  last  syllable  :  thus,  4to  for 
quarto,  8vo  for  octavo,  12mo  for  duodecimo,  &c. 

16.  The  manufacture  of  account-books,  and  other 
blank  or  stationary  work,  constitutes  an  extensive 
branch  of  the  bookbinder’s  business.  It  is  not  neces¬ 
sary,  however,  to  be  particular  in  noticing  it,  as  the 
general  process  is  similar  to  that  of  common  book¬ 
binding.  Those  binders  who  devote  much  attention 
to  this  branch  of  the  trade,  have  a  machine  by  which 
paper  is  ruled  to  suit  any  method  of  keeping  books,  or 
any  other  pattern  which  may  be  desired. 


THE  BOOKSELLER. 


1.  The  book-trade  has  arisen  from  small  beginnings 
to  its  present  magnitude  and  importance.  Before  the 
invention  of  typography,  it  was  carried  on  by  the  aid 
of  transcribers  ;  and  the  booksellers  of  Greece,  Rome, 
and  Alexandria,  during  the  flourishing  state  of  their 
literature,  kept  a  large  number  of  manuscript  copyists 
in  constant  employ.  Among  the  Romans,  the  trans¬ 
cribers  or  copyists  were  chiefly  slaves,  who  were  very 
valuable  to  their  owners,  on  account  of  their  capacity 
for  this  employment. 

2.  In  the  middle  ages,  when  learning  was  chiefly 
confined  to  the  precincts  of  monastic  institutions,  the 
monks  employed  much  of  their  time  in  copying  the 
ancient  classics  and  other  works ;  and  this  labor  was 
often  imposed  upon  them  as  a  penance  for  the  com- 


THE  BOOKSELLER. 


93 


mission  of  sin.  From  this  cause,  and  from  an  igno- 
ranee  of  the  true  meaning  of  the  author,  much  of  their 
copying  was  inaccurately  performed,  so  that  great 
pains  have  been  since  required  in  the  correction  of 
the  manuscripts  of  those  times. 

3.  This  mode  of  multiplying  copies  of  books  was 
exceedingly  slow,  and,  withal,  so  very  expensive,  that 
learning  was  confined  almost  exclusively  to  people  of 
rank,  and  the  lower  orders  were  only  rescued  from 
total  ignorance  by  the  reflected  light  of  their  superiors. 
For  a  long  time,  during  the  reign  of  comparative  bar¬ 
barism  in  Europe,  books  were  so  scarce,  that  a  pres- 
ent  of  a  single  copy  to  a  religious  house  was  thought 
to  be  so  valuable  a  gift,  that  it  entitled  the  donor  to 
the  prayers  of  the  community,  which  were  considered 
efficacious  in  procuring  for  him  eternal  salvation. 

4.  After  the  establishment  of  the  universities  of 
Paris  and  Bologna,  there  were  dealers  in  books,  called 
stationarii,  who  loaned  single  manuscripts  at  high 
prices  ;  and,  in  the  former  place,  no  person,  after  the 
year  1432,  could  deal  in  books  in  any  way,  without 
permission  from  the  university,  by  which  officers  were 
appointed  to  examine  the  manuscripts,  and  fix  the 
price  for  which  they  might  be  sold  or  hired  out. 

5.  For  a  long  time  after  the  invention  of  printing, 
the  printers  sold  their  own  publications  ;  and,  in  doing 
this,  especially  at  some  distance  from  their  establish¬ 
ments,  they  were  aided  by  those  who  had  formerly 
been  employed  as  copyists.  Some  of  these  travelling 
agents,  at  length,  became  stationary,  and  procured  the 
publication  of  works  on  their  own  account. 

6.  The  first  bookseller  who  purchased  manuscripts 
from  the  authors,  and  caused  them  to  be  printed  with¬ 
out  owning  a  press  himself,  was  John  Otto,  of  Nurem- 
burg.  He  commenced  this  mode  of  doing  business,  in 
1516.  In  1545,  there  were,  for  the  first  time,  two 
such  booksellers  in  Leipsic.  The  great  mart  for  the 


94  THE  BOOKSELLER. 

sale  of  their  books  was  Frankfort  on  the  Maine,  where 
were  held  three  extensive  fairs  every  year.  Leipsic, 
however,  soon  became,  and  still  continues,  the  centre 
of  the  German  book-trade. 

7.  The  first  Leipsic  catalogue  of  books  appeared  as 
early  as  the  year  1600  ;  but  the  fairs  at  that  place  did 
not  become  important,  as  regards  the  book- trade,  until 
1667,  when  it  was  attended  by  nineteen  foreign  book¬ 
sellers.  The  booksellers  of  Germany,  as  well  as  some 
from  distant  countries,  meet  at  the  semi-annual  fairs 
held  in  that  city,  to  dispose  of  books,  and  to  settle 
their  accounts  with  each  other.  Every  German  pub¬ 
lisher  has  also  an  agent  there,  who  receives  his  pub¬ 
lications,  and  sends  them,  according  as  they  are  or¬ 
dered,  to  any  part  of  Germany. 

8.  In  no  other  part  of  the  woijld,  has  such  a  connex¬ 
ion  of  booksellers  been  formed,  altljpough  almost  every 
kingdom  of  Europe  has  some  city  or  cities  in  which 
this  branch  of  trade  is  chiefly  concentrated ;  as  Lon¬ 
don,  in  England ;  Edinburgh,  in  Scotland ;  and  Am¬ 
sterdam,  Utrecht,  Leyden,  and  Haerlem,  in  the  Neth¬ 
erlands.  In  Spain  and  Portugal,  the  price  of  every 
book  is  regulated  by  the  government. 

9.  A  very  convenient  method  of  effecting  the  sale 
and  exchange  of  books  among  booksellers,  has  been 
adopted  in  the  United  States  ;  and  this  is  by  auction. 
A  sale  of  this  kind  is  held  in  Boston  once,  and  in  New- 
York  and  Philadelphia  twice,  every  year ;  and  none 
are  invited  to  attend  it  but  the  trade ;  hence  such 
sales  are  denominated  trade-sales. 

10.  The  sale  is  usually  conducted  by  an  auctioneer 
who  has  been  selected  by  a  committee  of  the  trade  in 
the  city  in  which  it  is  to  be  held.  In  order  to  obtain 
a  sufficient  amount  of  stock  for  the  purpose,  the  agent 
issues  proposals,  in  which  he  informs  publishers  and 
others  concerned  in  this  branch  of  business,  of  his  irf- 
tention,  and  solicits  invoices  of  books,  to  be  sold  at 


THE 


BOOKSELLER. 


95 


the  time  specified.  A  catalogue  of  all  the  books  thus 
sent  for  sale,  is  distributed  among  the  booksellers. 

11.  The  booksellers  having  assembled,  the  books 
which  may  have  been  accumulated  from  different  parts 
of  the  Union,  are  offered  in  convenient  lots,  and  struck 
off  to  the  highest  bidder.  Each  purchaser  holds  in 
his  hand  the  printed  catalogue,  on  the  broad  margin  of 
which  he  marks,  if  he  sees  fit,  the  prices  at  which  the 
books  have  been  sold ;  and  the  record  thus  kept  affords 
a  tolerable  means  of  determining  their  value,  for  a 
considerable  time  afterwards. 

12.  A  sale  of  this  kind  occupies  from  four  to  six 
days  ;  and,  at  the  close  of  it,  a  settlement  takes  place, 
in  which  the  parties  are  governed  by  the  terms  pre¬ 
viously  published.  The  payments  are  made  in  cash, 
or  by  notes  at  four  or  six  months,  according  to  the 
amount  which  the  purchaser  may  have  bought  out  of 
one  invoice.  The  conductors  of  the  sale  are  allowed 
about  five  per  cent,  commission  for  their  services. 

13.  A  vast  number  of  books  is  also  sold,  every  year, 
at  auction,  to  miscellaneous  collections  of  people,  not 
only  in  the  cities  and  considerable  towns,  but  likewise 
in  the  villages  throughout  the  country.  By  many 
booksellers,  this  method  of  sale  is  thought  to  be  inju¬ 
rious  to  the  trade,  since  it  has  reduced  the  prices  of 
books,  and  interfered  with  the  regular  method  of  doing 
business.  These  disadvantages,  however,  have  been 
far  overbalanced  by  the  increased  number  of  readers 
which  has  been  thus  created. 

14.  The  circulation  of  books  is  likewise  promoted 
by  means  of  travelling  agents,  who  either  sell  them  at 
once,  or  obtain  subscriptions  for  them  with  the  view 
to  their  future  delivery.  These  methods  have  been 
employed  more  or  less  from  the  very  commencement 
of  the  printing  business ;  and  they  have  probably  con¬ 
tributed  more  to  the  general  extension  of  knowledge 
than  the  sale  of  books  by  stationary  booksellers.  In 


96 


THE  BOOKSELLER. 


fact,  they  are  among  the  most  prominent  causes  of  the 
vast  trade  in  books,  which  is  now  carried  on,  especially 
in  the  United  States. 

15.  Nevertheless,  publishers,  who  do  not  employ 
agents  to  vend  their  books,  generally  consider  them 
interlopers  upon  their  business  ;  and  the  people  them¬ 
selves,  who  owe  a  great  share  of  their  intellectual  cul¬ 
tivation  to  this  useful  class  of  men,  are  generally 
averse  to  afford  them  the  necessary  patronage,  because 
they  require  a  small  advance  on  the  city  prices  to  pay 
travelling  expenses. 

16.  A  considerable  amount  of  books  is  also  sold  by 
merchants  who  reside  at  some  distance  from  the  cities 
and  large  towns.  They,  however,  seldom  venture  to 
purchase  those  which  have  not  been  well  known  and 
approved  in  their  neighborhood  ;  and,  in  a  majority 
of  cases,  regard  them  as  mere  subjects  of  merchandise, 
without  taking  into  consideration  the  effects  most  like¬ 
ly  to  be  produced  by  these  silent,  but  powerful  agents, 
when  circulated  among  their  customers. 

17.  Some  booksellers  in  Europe  confine  their  trade' 
chiefly  to  particular  departments  ;  such  as  law,  theolo¬ 
gy,  and  medicine.  Others  deal  in  toy-books,  and 
books  of  education,  or  in  rare  and  scarce  books- 
This  is  the  case,  to  a  limited  extent,  in  the  United 
States,  although  our  booksellers  commonly  keep  an 
assortment  of  miscellaneous  publications,  as  well  as 
various  articles  in  the  stationary  line  ;  such  as  paper, 
quills,  inkstands,  and  blank  work. 


i 


I 


THE  ARCHITECT. 

1.  Architecture,  in  the  general  sense  of  the  word, 
is  the  art  of  planning  and  erecting  buildings  of  all 
kinds,  whether  of  a  public  or  private  nature ;  and  it 
embraces  within  its  operations  a  variety  of  employ¬ 
ments,  at  the  head  of  which  must  be  placed  the  Ar¬ 
chitect.  Architecture  is  of  several  kinds,  such  as 
civil,  naval ,  military,  and  aquatic ;  but  it  is  the  first 
only  that  we  propose  to  notice  in  the  present  article. 

2.  The  construction  of  buildings  as  means  of  shel¬ 
ter  from  the  weather,  appears  to  have  been  among 
the  earliest  inventions  ;  and,  from  the  skill  exhibited 
in  the  construction  of  the  ark,  we  have  reason  to  be¬ 
lieve  that  architecture  had  been  brought  to  consider¬ 
able  perfection  before  the  deluge.  This  opinion  is 
also  supported  by  the  fact  stated  in  holy  writ,  that  the 

II.— I 


98 


THE  ARCHITECT. 


descendants  of  Noah,  not  more  than  one  hundred 
years  after  the  great  catastrophe  just  mentioned,  at- 
tempted  to  build  a  city  and  a  lofty  tower  with  bricks 
burned  in  the  fire.  This  project  could  never  have 
been  thought  of,  had  they  not  been  influenced  by  the 
knowledge  of  former  centuries. 

3.  The  confusion  of  the  language  of  the  people 
caused  their  dispersion  into  different  parts  of  the 
earth ;  and,  in  their  several  locations,  they  adopted 
that  method  of  constructing  their  dwellings,  which 
the  climate  required,  and  the  materials. at  hand  ad¬ 
mitted  ;  but,  whatever  the  primitive  structure  may 
have  been,  it  was  continued,  in  its  general  features, 
from  age  to  age,  by  the  more  refined  and  opulent  in¬ 
habitants  ;  hence  the  different  styles  of  building, 
which  have  been  continued,  with  various  modifica¬ 
tions,  to  the  present  day. 

4.  The  essential  elementary  parts  of  a  building  are 
those  which  contribute  to  its  support,  inclosure,  and 
covering  ;  and  of  these  the  most  important  are  the 
foundation,  the  column,  the  wall,  the  lintel,  the  arch, 
the  vault,  the  dome,  and  the  roof.  Ornamental  and 
refined  architecture  is  one  of  the  fine  arts  ;  neverthe¬ 
less,  every  part  of  an  edifice  must  appear  to  have 
utility  for  its  object,  and  show  the  purpose  for  which 
it  has  been  designed. 

5.  The  foundation  is  usually  a  stone  wall,  on  which 
the  superstructure  of  the  building  rests.  The  most 
solid  basis  on  which  it  is  placed  is  rock,  or  gravel 
which  has  never  been  disturbed ;  next  to  these  are 
clay  and  sand.  In  loose  or  muddy  situations,  it  is  al¬ 
ways  unsafe  to  build,  unless  a  solid  basis  can  be  arti¬ 
ficially  produced.  This  is  often  done  by  means  of 
timber  placed  in  a  horizontal  position,  or  by  driving 
wooden  piles  perpendicularly  into  the  earth;  on  a 
foundation  of  the  latter  description,  the  greater  part 
of  the  city  of  Amsterdam  has  been  built. 


THE  ARCHITECT. 


99 


6.  The  column ,  or  'pillar ,  is  the  simplest  member 
of  a  building,  although  it  is  not  essential  to  all.  It  is 
not  employed  for  the  purpose  of  inclosure,  but  as  a 
support  to  some  part  of  the  superstructure,  and  the 
principal  force  which  it  has  to  resist  is  that  of  per¬ 
pendicular  pressure.  The  column  is  more  frequently 
employed  in  public  than  in  private  buildings. 

7.  The  wall  may  be  considered  the  lateral  continu¬ 
ation  of  the  column,  answering  the  purposes  both  of 
support  and  inclosure.  It  is  constructed  of  various 
materials,  but  chiefly  of  brick,  stone,  and  marble, 
with  a  suitable  proportion  of  mortar  or  cement. 
Walls  are  also  made  of  wood,  by  first  erecting  a 
frame  of  timber  and  then  covering  it  with  boards ; 
but  these  are  more  perishable  materials,  which  re¬ 
quire  to  be  defended  from  the  decomposing  influence 
of  the  atmosphere,  by  paint  or  some  other  substance. 

8.  The  lintel  is  a  beam  extending  in  a  right  line 
from  one  column  or  wall  to  another  over  a  vacant 
space.  The  floor  is  a  lateral  continuation  or  con¬ 
nexion  of  beams,  by  means  of  a  covering  of  planks. 
The  strength  of  the  lintel,  and,  in  fact,  every  other  el¬ 
ementary  part  of  a  building  used  as  a  support,  can  be 
mathematically  determined  by  the  skilful  architect. 

9.  The  arch  answers  the  same  purpose  as  the  lin¬ 
tel,  although  it  far  exceeds  it  in  strength.  It  is  com¬ 
posed  of  several  pieces  of  a  wedge-like  form,  and  the 
joints  formed  by  the  contact  of  flat  surfaces  point  to 
a  common  centre.  While  the  workmen  are  con¬ 
structing  the  arch,  the  materials  are  supported  by  a 
centring  of  the  shape  of  its  internal  surface.  The 
upper  stone  of  an  arch  is  called  the  key-stone.  The 
supports  of  an  arch  are  called  abutments ;  and  a  con¬ 
tinuation  of  arches,  an  arcade. 

10.  The  vault  is  the  lateral  continuation  of  an 
arch,  and  bears  the  same  relation  to  it  that  a  wall 
bears  to  a  column.  The  construction  of  a  simple 


100 


THE  ARCHITECT. 


vault  is  the  same  with  that  of  an  arch,  and  it  distrib¬ 
utes  its  pressure  equally  along  the  walls  or  abutments. 
A  complex  or  groined  vault  is  made  by  the  intersec¬ 
tion  of  two  of  the  common  kind.  The  groined  vault 
is  much  used  in  Gothic  architecture. 

11.  The  dome ,  or  cupola ,  is  a  hemispherical  or 
convex  covering  to  a  building  or  a  part  of  it.  When 
built  of  stone  it  is  a  very  strong  kind  of  structure, 
even  more  so  than  the  arch,  since  the  tendency  of 
the  parts  to  fall  is  counteracted  by  those  above  and 
below,  as  well  as  by  those  on  each  side.  During  the 
erection  of  the  cupola,  no  centring  is  required,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  arch. 

12.  The  roof  is  the  most  common  and  cheap  cov¬ 
ering  to  buildings.  It  is  sometimes  flat,  but  most 
commonly  oblique,  in  shape.  A  roof  consisting  of 
two  oblique  sides  meeting  at  the  top,  is  denominated 
a  pent  roof ;  that  with  four  oblique  sides,  a  hipped 
roof ;  and  that  with  two  sides,  having  each  two  incli¬ 
nations  of  different  obliquities,  a  curl  or  mansard  roof. 
In  modern  times,  roofs  are  constructed  of  wood,  or 
of  wood  covered  with  some  incombustible  material, 
such  as  tiles,  slate,  and  sheets  of  lead,  tin,  or  copper. 
The  elementary  parts  of  buildings,  as  just  described, 
are  more  or  less  applicable  in  almost  every  kind  of 
architecture. 

13.  The  architecture  of  different  countries  has 
been  characterized  by  peculiarities  of  form  and  con¬ 
struction,  which,  among  ancient  nations,  were  so  dis¬ 
tinct,  that  their  edifices  may  be  identified  at  the  pres¬ 
ent  day  even  in  a  state  of  ruin  ;  and,  although  nearly 
all  the  buildings  of  antiquity  are  in  a  dilapidated  state, 
many  of  them  have  been  restored,  in  drawings  and 
models,  by  the  aid  of  the  fragments  which  remain. 

14.  The  different  styles  of  building  which  have 
been  recognised  by  the  architect  of  modern  times, 
are,  the  Egyptian,  the  Chinese,  the  Grecian,  the  Ro- 


THE  ARCHITECT. 


101 


man,  the  Greco -Gothic,  the  Saracenic,  and  the  Goth¬ 
ic.  In  all  these,  the  pillar,  with  its  accompaniments, 
makes  a  distinguished  figure.  The  following  picture 
has  therefore  been  introduced  by  way  of  explanation. 
The  columns  are  of  the  Corinthian  order  of  architec¬ 
ture.  . 


15.  The  Egyptian  style. — The  first  inhabitants  of 
Egypt  lived  in  mounds,  caverns,  and  houses  of  mud ; 
and,  from  these  primitive  structures,  the  Egyptians, 
at  a  later  period,  derived  their  style  of  architecture. 
The  walls  of  their  buildings  were  very  thick,  and 
sloping  on  the  outside ;  the  roof  was  flat,  and  com¬ 
posed  of  blocks  of  stone,  extending  from  one  wall  or 
pillar  to  another;  and  the  columns  were  short  and 

12 


102 


THE  ARCHITECT. 


large,  being  sometimes  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  diameter. 
Pyramids  of  prodigious  magnitude,  and  obelisks  com¬ 
posed  of  a  single  stone,  sometimes  often  exceeding 
seventy  feet  in  height,  are  structures* peculiarly  Egyp¬ 
tian.  The  architecture  of  the  Hindoos  seems  to  have 


An  Egyptian  Temple. 


been  derived  from  primitive  structures  of  a  similar 
character. 

16.  The  Chinese  style. — The  ancient  Tartars,  and 
other  wandering  tribes  of  Asia,  appear  to  have  lived 
in  tents ;  and  the  Chinese  buildings,  even  at  the  pres¬ 
ent  day,  bear  a  strong  resemblance  to  these  original 


habitations,  since  their  roofs  are  concave  on  the  up¬ 
per  side,  as  if  made  of  canvas  instead  of  wood. 


THE  ARCHITECT. 


103 


Their  porticoes  resemble  the  awnings  spread  out  on 
our  shop-windows  in  the  summer.  The  Chinese  build 
chiefly  of  wood,  although  they  sometimes  use  brick 
and  stone. 

17.  The  Grecian  style. — This  style  of  building  had 
its  origin  in  the  wooden  hut  or  cabin,  the  frame  of 
which  primarily  consisted  of  perpendicular  posts, 
transverse  beams,  and  rafters.  This  structure  was 
at  length  imitated  in  stone,  and  by  degrees  it  was  so 
modified  and  decorated  in  certain  parts,  as  to  give 
rise  to  the  several  distinctions  called  orders  of  archi¬ 
tecture.  The  Greeks,  in  perfecting  their  system  of 
architecture,  were  probably  aided  by  Egyptian  exam¬ 
ples,  although  they  finally  surpassed  all  other  nations 
in  this  important  art. 

18.  Orders  of  architecture. — By  the  architectural 
orders  are  understood  certain  modes  of  proportioning 
and  decorating  the  column  and  entablature.  They 
were  in  use  during  the  best  days  of  Greece  and  Rome, 
for  a  period  of  six  or  seven  centuries.  The  Greeks 
had  three  orders,  called  the  Doric,  the  Ionic ,  and  the 
Corinthian.  These  were  adopted  and  modified  by 
the  Romans,  who  also  added  two  others,  called  the 
Tuscan  and  the  Composite. 

19.  Doric  order. — The  Doric  is  the  oldest  and  most 
massive  order  of  the  Greeks.  The  column,  in  the 
examples  at  Athens,  is  about  six  of  its  diameters  in 
height ;  in  those  of  an  earlier  date,  it  is  but  four  or 
five.  The  temple  here  adduced  to  illustrate  this  or- 


The  Temple  of  Theseus. 


der  was  built  by  Cimon,  son  of  Miltiades,  about  the 


104 


THE  ARCHITECT. 


year  450  before  Christ.  It  is  said  to  be  in  a  state  of 
better  preservation  than  any  other  of  the  ancient 
Greek  edifices  at  Athens.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
shafts  ar e  fluted,  that  is,  cut  in  semicircular  channels, 
in  a  longitudinal  direction.  The  United  States’  Bank, 
at  Philadelphia,  is  a  noble  specimen  of  this  order. 

20.  Ionic  order. — This  order  is  lighter  than  the 
Doric,  its  column  being  eight  or  nine  diameters  in 
height.  Its  shaft  has  twenty-four  or  more  flutings, 
separated  from  each  other  by  square  edges  ;  and  its 
capital  consists,  in  part,  of  two  double  scrolls,  called 
volutes ,  usually  occupying  opposite  sides.  These  vo¬ 
lutes  are  supposed  to  have  been  copied  from  ringlets 
of  hair,  or  from  the  horns  of  the  god  Jupiter  Ammon. 
The  following  example  of  this  order  consists  of  three 
temples,  each  of  which  was  dedicated  to  a  different 
individual,  viz.,  Erectheus,  Minerva  Polias,  and  the 
nymph  Pandrosus, 


21.  Corinthian  order. — The  Corinthian  is  the  light¬ 
est  and  most  decorated  of  all  the  Grecian  orders. 
Its  column  is  usually  ten  diameters  in  height,  and  its 
shaft  is  fluted  like  that  of  the  Ionic.  Its  capital  is 
shaped  like  an  inverted  bell,  and  was  covered  on  the 
outside  with  two  rows  of  the  leaves  of  the  plant  acan¬ 
thus,  above  which  are  eight  pairs  of  small  volutes. 
It  is  said  that  this  beautiful  capital  was  suggested  to 
the  sculptor  Callimachus  by  the  growth  of  an  acan¬ 
thus  about  a  basket,  which  had  been  accidentally  left 
in  a  garden. 


THE  ARCHITECT. 


105 


22.  The  Greeks  sometimes  departed  so  far  from 
the  strict  use  of  their  orders,  as  to  employ  the  stat¬ 
ues  of  slaves,  heroes,  and  gods,  in  the  place  of  col¬ 
umns.  A  specimen  of  this  practice  is  exhibited  in 
the  cut  illustrative  of  the  Ionic  order.  It  belongs  to 
the  temple  dedicated  to  Pandrosus. 

23.  The  most  remarkable  buildings  of  the  Greeks 
were  their  temples.  The  body  of  these  edifices  con¬ 
sisted  of  a  walled  cell,  usually  surrounded  by  one  or 
more  rows  of  pillars.  Sometimes  they  had  a  colon¬ 
nade  at  one  end  only,  and  sometimes  at  both  ends. 
Their  form  was  generally  oblong,  and  as  the  cells 
were  intended  as  places  of  resort  for  the  priests  rather 
than  for  assemblies  of  the  people,  they  were  but  im¬ 
perfectly  lighted.  Windows  were  seldom  employed; 
and  light  was  admitted  at  the  door  at  one  end,  or 
through  an  opening  in  the  roof. 

24.  Grecian  architecture  is  supposed  to  have  been 
at  its  greatest  perfection  in  the  days  of  Pericles  and 
Phidias,  when  sculpture  is  admitted  to  have  attained 
its  highest  excellence.  It  was  distinguished,  in  gen¬ 
eral,  by  simplicity  of  structure,  fewness  of  parts,  ab¬ 
sence  of  arches,  and  lowness  of  pediments  and  roofs. 

25.  Roman  style. — The  Romans  adopted  the  three 
Grecian  orders,  with  some  modifications  ;  and  also 
added  two  others,  called  the  Tuscan  and  Composite. 
The  former  of  these  they  borrowed  from  the  nation 
whose  name  it  bears,  and  the  latter  they  formed  by 
uniting  the  embellishments  of  the  Doric  and  the  Co¬ 
rinthian.  The  favorite  order  in  Rome  and  its  colo¬ 
nies  was  the  Corinthian.  Examples  of  single  pillars 
of  these  orders  may  be  seen  at  the  end  of  this  article. 

26.  The  temples  of  the  Romans  generally  bore  a 
strong  resemblance  to  those  of  the  Greeks,  although 
they  often  differed  from  the  specimens  of  that  nation 
in  several  particulars.  The  stylobate  of  the  latter 
was  usually  a  succession  of  platforms,  which  likewise 


106 


THE  ARCHITECT. 


served  the  purposes  of  steps,  by  which  the  building 
was  approached  on  all  sides.  Among  the  Romans,  it 
was  usually  an  elevated  structure,  like  a  continued 
pedestal,  on  three  sides,  and  accessible  in  front  by 
means  of  steps.  The  dome  was  also  very  commonly 
employed  rather  than  the  pent  roof.  The  following 
is  an  example  of  a  temple  at  Rome. 


Temple  of  Antonius  and  Faustina. 

27.  Greco-Gothic  style . — After  the  dismemberment 
of  the  Roman  empire,  the  practice  of  erecting  new 
buildings  from  the  fragments  of  old  ones  became 
prevalent.  This  gave  rise  to  an  irregular  style  of 
building,  which  continued  in  use  during  the  dark  ages. 
It  consisted  of  Greek  and  Roman  details  combined 
under  new  forms,  and  piled  up  into  structures  wholly 
unlike  the  original  buildings  from  which  the  materials 
had  been  taken.  Hence  the  appellations  Greco-Gothic 
and  Romanesque  have  been  applied  to  it.  The  effect 
of  this  style  of  building  was  very  imposing,  especially 
when  columns  and  arches  were  piled  upon  each  other 
to  a  great  height. 

28.  Saracenic  style. — This  appellation  has  been 
given  to  the  style  of  building  practised  by  the  Moors 


THE  ARCHITECT. 


107 


and  Saracens  in  Spain,  Egypt,  and  Turkey.  It  is 
distinguished,  among  other  things,  by  an  elliptical 
form  of  the  arch.  A  similar  peculiarity  exists  in  the 
domes  of  the  Oriental  mosques,  which  are  sometimes 
large  segments  of  a  sphere,  appearing  as  if  inflated ; 
and  at  other  times,  they  are  concavo-convex  on  the 
outside.  Several  of  these  domes  are  commonly 
placed  upon  one  building.  The  minaret  is  a  tall 
slender  tower,  peculiar  to  Turkish  architecture. 

29.  Gothic  style. — The  Goths,  who  overran  a  great 
part  of  the  Western  empire,  were  not  the  inventors 
of  the  style  of  architecture  which  bears  their  name. 
The  term  was  first  applied  with  the  view  to  stigma¬ 
tize  the  edifices  of  the  middle  ages,  in  the  construc¬ 
tion  of  which,  the  purity  of  the  antique  models  had 
not  been  regarded.  The  term  was  at  first  very  ex¬ 
tensive  in  its  application  ;  but  it  is  now  confined 
chiefly  to  the  style  of  building  which  was  introduced 
into  various  parts  of  Europe  six  or  eight  centuries 
ago,  and  which  was  used  in  the  construction  of  cathe¬ 
drals,  churches,  abbeys,  and  similar  edifices. 


Gothic  Cathedral  at  York. 


30.  The  Gothic  style  is  peculiarly  and  strongly 
marked.  Its  principles  seem  to  have  originated  in 
the  imitation  of  groves  and  bowers,  under  which  the 
Druid  priests  had  been  accustomed  to  perform  their 
sacred  rites.  Its  characteristics  are,  pointed  arches, 


108 


THE  ARCHITECT. 


pinnacles  and  spires,  large  buttresses,  clustered  pil¬ 
lars,  vaulted  roofs,  and  a  general  predominance  of  the 
perpendicular  over  the  horizontal. 

31.  The  ecclesiastical  edifices  of  this  style  of  build¬ 
ing  are  commonly  in  form  of  a  cross,  having  a  tower, 
lantern,  or  spire,  erected  at  the  point  of  intersection. 
The  part  of  the  cross  situated  towards  the  west  is 
called  the  nave ;  the  eastern  part,  the  choir ;  and  the 
transverse  portion,  the  transept.  A  glance  at  the  fol¬ 
lowing  diagram  will  enable  the  reader  to  understand 
the  form  of  the  ground-work  more  fully. 


a, 

-  w 

Nave  £  Choir 
-< 

-  os  - 


32.  Any  high  building  erected  above  a  roof  is 
called  a  steeple ,  which  is  also  distinguished  by  dif¬ 
ferent  appellations,  according  to*  its  form :  if  it  is 
square  topped,  it  is  a  tower ;  if  long  and  acute,  a 
spire;  or  if  short  and  light,  a  lantern.  Towers  of 
great  height  in  proportion  to  their  diameter  are  de¬ 
nominated  turrets.  The  walls  of  Gothic  churches 
are  supported  on  the  outside  by  lateral  projections, 
called  buttresses ,  which  extend  from  the  bottom  to  the 
top,  at  the  corners  and  between  the  windows.  On 
the  top  of  these  are  slender  pyramidal  structures  or 
spires,  called  pinnacles.  The  summit  or  upper  edge 
of  a  wall,  if  straight,  is  called  a  parapet ;  if  indented, 
a  battlement. 

33.  Gothic  pillars  or  columns  are  usually  cluster¬ 
ed,  appearing  as  if  a  number  were  bound  together. 
They  are  confined  chiefly  to  the  inside  of  buildings, 
and  are  generally  employed  in  sustaining  the  vaults 
which  support  the  roof.  The  parts  which  are  thrown 


THE  ARCHITECT. 


109 


out  of  a  perpendicular  to  assist  in  forming  these 
vaults,  have  received  the  appellation  of  pendentives. 
The  Gothic  style  of  building  is  more  imposing  than 
the  Grecian  ;  but  architects  of  the  present  day  find  it 
difficult  to  accomplish  what  was  achieved  by  the 
builders  of  the  middle  ages. 

34.  In  the  erection  of  edifices  at  the  present  day, 
the  Grecian  and  Gothic  styles  are  chiefly  employed, 
to  the  exclusion  of  the  others,  especially  in  Europe 
and  America.  Modern  dwelling-houses  have  neces¬ 
sarily  a  style  of  their  own,  so  far  as  relates  to  sto¬ 
ries,  windows,  and  chimneys  ;  and  no  more  of  the 
styles  of  former  ages  can  be  applied  to  them,  than 
what  relates  to  the  unessential  and  decorative  parts. 

II.— K 


Doric.  Ionic.  Corinthian.  Composite.  Tuscan 


I 


pillars  and  entablatures  of  the  five  orders. 


THE  CARPENTER. 


1.  It  is  the  business  of  the  carpenter  to  cut  out  and 
frame  large  pieces  of  timber,  and  then  to  join  them 
together,  or  fit  them  to  brick  or  stone  walls,  to  con¬ 
stitute  them  the  outlines  or  skeleton  of  buildings  or 
parts  of  buildings. 

2.  The  joiner  executes  the  more  minute  parts  of 
the  wood-work  of  edifices,  comprehending,  among 
other  things,  the  floors,  window-frames,  sashes,  doors, 
mantels,  &c.  Carpentry  and  joinery,  however,  are 
so  nearly  allied  to  each  other,  that  they  are  commonly 
practised  by  the  same  individuals  ;  and,  in  this  article, 
they  will  be  treated  together. 

3.  Carpentry  and  joinery,  as  well  as  all  other 
trades  connected  with  building,  are  subservient  to  the 
architect,  when  an  individual  of  this  particular  profes- 


112 


THE  CARPENTER. 


sion  has  been  employed  ;  but  it  most  commonly  hap¬ 
pens,  that  the  master-carpenter  acts  in  this  capacity. 
This  is  especially  the  case  in  the  erection  of  common 
dwellings,  and,  in  fact,  of  other  edifices  where  nothing 
very  splendid  is  to  be  attempted.  It  is  to  be  regret¬ 
ted,  however,  that  the  professional  architect  has  not 
been  oftener  employed ;  for,  had  this  been  the  case,  a 
purer  taste  in  building  would  have  generally  prevailed. 

4.  Contracts  for  the  erection  of  buildings  are  often 
made  with  the  carpenter,  as  master-builder  or  archi¬ 
tect.  In  such  cases,  it  is  his  business  to  employ  per¬ 
sons  capable  of  executing  every  kind  of  work  re¬ 
quired  on  the  proposed  edifice,  from  the  bricklayer 
and  stone-mason  to  the  painter  and  glazier.  It  not 
unfrequently  happens,  however,  that  the  person  him¬ 
self,  who  proposes  to  erect  a  building,  chooses  to  em¬ 
ploy  the  workmen  in  the  different  branches. 

5.  The  constituent  parts  of  buildings  having  been 
explained  in  the  article  on  architecture,  it  is  unneces¬ 
sary  to  enter  here  into  minute  details  on  this  point ; 
nor  would  a  particular  description  of  the  various  op¬ 
erations  of  the  carpenter  and  joiner  be  useful  to  the 
general  reader,  since,  in  every  place,  means  are  at 
hand  by  which  a  general  view  of  this  business  may 
be  obtained  by  actual  inspection. 

6.  The  carpenter  and  joiner  are  guided,  in  the  per¬ 
formance  of  their  work,  by  well-defined  rules,  drawn 
chiefly  from  the  science  of  Geometry,  and  which 
they  have  learned  from  imitation  and  practice,  as  well 
as,  in  many  cases,  from  the  valuable  works  which 
have  been  published  on  these  branches  of  the  art  of 
building. 

7.  The  principal  tools  with  which  they  operate  are 
the  axe,  the  adze,  the  saw,  the  auger,  the  gauge,  the 
square,  the  compasses,  the  hammer,  the  mallet,  the 
crow,  the  rule,  the  level,  the  maul,  and  the  plane ;  and 
of  many  of  these  there  are  several  kinds. 


THE  CARPENTER. 


113 


8.  The  timbers  most  employed  in  building  in  the 
United  States  are  chiefly  pine,  oak,  beech,  black  wal¬ 
nut,  cypress,  larch,  white  cedar,  and  hemlock ;  but 
of  these  pine  is  in  the  greatest  use.  Oak  and  beech 
are  much  used  in  constructing  frames,  in  which  great 
strength  is  required.  Of  the  pine,  there  are  several 
species,  of  which  the  white  and  yellow  are  the  most 
valuable  ;  the  former  of  these  grows  in  the  greatest 
abundance  in  the  Northern,  and  the  latter,  in  the  South¬ 
ern  states. 

9.  Vasrquantities  of  timber  are  annually  cut  into 
boards  in  saw-mills,  and  floated  down  the  rivers  from 
the  interior,  during  the  time  of  high  water  in  the  spring 
and  fall,  and  sometimes  at  other  seasons  of  the  year. 
The  boards,  or,  as  they  are  frequently  denominated, 
planks,  are  placed  in  the  water,  one  tier  above  an¬ 
other,  and  fastened  together  with  wooden  pins.  Sev¬ 
eral  of  such  rafts  are  connected  by  means  of  withes 
to  form  one  ;  and,  at  each  end  of  this,  are  placed  one 
or  two  huge  oars,  with  which  it  may  be  guided  down 
the  stream.  Upon  these  rafts,  shingles  and  laths 
are  also  brought  to  market. 

10.  Logs  and  scantling  to  be  employed  in  the  frames 
of  buildings  are  also  conveyed  down  the  rivers  in  the 
same  manner.  The  business  connected  with  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  shingles,  laths,  boards  or  planks,  and  staves, 
is  called  lumbering ;  and  it  is  carried  on,  more  or 
less  extensively,  in  the  regions  near  the  sources  of  all 
the  large  rivers  in  the  United  States,  and  in  the  British 
possessions  in  North  America. 

11.  The  trade  in  lumber  has  also  given  rise  to  an¬ 
other  class  of  men,  called  lumber  merchants  ;  these 
purchase  the  lumber  from  the  original  proprietors, 
who  bring  it  down  the  rivers,  and,  in  their  turn,  sell  it 
to  builders  and  others.  The  lumbering  business  em¬ 
ploys  a  large  capital,  and  a  numerous  class  of  our 
citizens. 


K  2 


THE  STONE-MASON,  THE  BRICKMAKER,  &c. 

THE  MASON. 

1.  The  art  of  Masonry  includes  the  sawing  and 
cutting  of  stones  into  the  various  shapes  required  in 
the  multiplied  purposes  of  building,  and  in  placing 
them  in  a  proper  manner  in  the  walls  and  other  parts 
of  edifices.  It  is  divided  into  two  branches,  one  of 
which  consists  in  bringing  the  stones  to  the  desired 
form  and  polish,  and  the  other,  in  laying  them  in 
mortar  or  cement. 

2.  The  rocks  most  used  in  building  in  the  United 
States,  are  marble,  granite,  greenstone,  scienite,  soap¬ 
stone,  limestone,  gypsum,  and  slate.  These  are  found 
in  a  great  many  localities,  not  only  on  this  continent, 
but  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Of  these  stones, 
there  are  many  varieties,  which  are  frequently  desig¬ 
nated  by  their  sensible  qualities,  or  by  the  name  of 


THE  MASON. 


115 


the  place  or  country  whence  they  are  obtained ;  as 
variegated ,  Italian ,  Egyptian ,  or  Stockbridge  marble , 
and  Quincy  stone . 

3.  The  Stone-cutter. — Stone-cutters  procure  their 
materials  from  the  quarry-men,  whose  business  it  is  to 
get  out  the  stones  from  the  quarries,  in  which  they  lie 
in  beds,  consisting  either  of  strata  piled  upon  each 
other,  or  of  solid  masses.  Stones  of  any  desirable 
dimensions  are  detached  from  the  great  mass  of  rock, 
by  first  drilling  holes  at  suitable  points,  and  then  dri¬ 
ving  into  them  wedges  with  a  sledge.  These  blocks 
are  usually  removed  from  the  quarries,  and  placed  on 
vehicles  of  transportation,  by  means  of  huge  cranes, 
with  which  is  connected  suitable  machinery. 

4.  The  blocks  of  stone,  received  in  their  rough 
state  by  the  stone-cutter,  are  divided,  if  required,  into 
pieces  of  smaller  size,  by  means  of  a  toothless  saw, 
aided  by  the  attrition  of  sand  and  water.  The  other 
rough  sides  of  the  blocks  are  reduced  to  the  proper 
form  by  means  of  steel  points  and  chisels  driven  with 
a  mallet.  A  kind  of  hammer  with  a  point  or  chisel¬ 
like  edge,  is  also  used  to  effect  the  same  object,  espe¬ 
cially  in  the  softer  kinds  of  stone. 

5.  For  some  purposes,  the  stones  are  required  to 
be  polished.  This  is  especially  the  case  with  those 
employed  in  the  ornamental  parts  of  buildings.  In  the 
execution  of  this  part  of  the  work,  the  surface  is 
rubbed  successively  with  sand,  freestone,  pumice- 
stone,  Scotch  stone,  crocus,  and  putty.  When  the 
face  is  a  plane,  the  sand  is  applied  by  means  of  an¬ 
other  stone,  which  is  moved  backwards  and  forwards 
upon  it.  In  this  way,  two  surfaces  are  affected  at  the 
same  time. 

6.  In  polishing  irregular  surfaces,  the  different 
kinds  of  stone  are  used  in  masses  of  convenient 
size  ;  and  the  part  applied  to  the  surface  to  be  pol¬ 
ished  is  first  brought  to  a  form  corresponding  to  it 


1 


116  THE  STONE-MASON. 

The  putty  is  an  oxyde  of  tin,  in  form  of  powder. 
Crocus  is  the  peroxyde  of  iron.  The  building-stone 
capable  of  receiving  the  highest  polish  is  marble ; 
and  it  is  on  this  material  that  the  stone-cutter,  and 
the  architectural  carver  or  sculptor,  exert  their  ut¬ 
most  skill ;  but  some  of  the  other  stones  which  have 
been  mentioned,  possess  the  same  quality  to  a  consid¬ 
erable  extent. 

7.  Carving  architectural  ornaments,  such  as  pil¬ 
lars  with  their  capitals,  is  a  refined  branch  of  this  bu¬ 
siness  ;  or  it  may  rather  be  considered,  of  itself,  a 
branch  of  sculpture.  In  the  execution  of  this  kind  of 
work,  the  operator  is  guided  by  patterns,  formed  from 
the  well-defined  rules  of  the  science  of  building.  Very 
few  stone-cutters  attempt  the  execution  of  work  so 
very  difficult. 

8.  From  the  manufacture  of  mantel-pieces  and 
monuments  for  the  dead,  the  stone-cutter  derives  a 
great  proportion  of  his  profits.  This  will  be  manifest 
even  to  the  superficial  observer  who  may  visit  a  few 
of  the  many  stone-cutters’  yards,  to  be  found  in  any 
of  our  large  cities.  In  some  of  these,  blocks  of  mar¬ 
ble  are  cut  into  slabs  by  the  aid  of  steam-power. 

9.  In  districts  of  country,  also,  where  valuable 
stone  is  abundant,  water  is  extensively  employed  for 
the  same  purpose.  This  is  especially  the  case  in 
Berkshire  county,  Massachusetts,  where  marble  of  a 
good  quality  is  abundant.  A  great  proportion  of  the 
marble  slabs  used  by  the  stone-cutter  are  obtained 
from  such  mills.  Some  other  operations  of  this  busi¬ 
ness  are  also  sometimes  performed  by  the  aid  of  ma¬ 
chinery. 

THE  STONE-MASON. 

1.  In  Philadelphia,  and  in  many  other  cities  not 
only  in  this  country,  but  also  in  Europe,  the  stone-cut¬ 
ters  set  their  own  work  ;  and  this  practice  has  led  to 


THE  S  T  0  N  E-M  A  S  O  N. 


117 


the  habit  of  applying  the  term  stone-mason  to  both 
stone-cutters  and  those  who  lay  stone  in  mortar  and 
cement.  In  New-York,  however,  as  well  as  in  some 
of  the  cities  farther  east,  these  two  employments  are 
kept  more  distinct.  The  stone-cutters  in  Philadelphia 
are  sometimes  denominated  marble-masons. 

2.  But,  in  every  city,  there  are  persons  called  stone¬ 
masons,  whose  business  consists  exclusively  in  con¬ 
structing  the  walls  and  some  other  parts  of  buildings 
with  stone  ;  and  their  operations  are  considerably  en¬ 
larged  in  those  places  where  there  are  no  marble-ma¬ 
sons.  In  many  cases,  the  bricklayer  is  also  so  far  a 
stone-mason,  as  to  lay  the  foundation-walls  of  the 
buildings  which  he  may  erect.  This  is  especially  the 
case  in  the  country,  where  the  divisions  of  labor  are 
not  so  minute  as  in  cities.  It  may  be  well  here  to 
remark,  also,  that  the  bricklayers,  in  some  places,  per¬ 
form  the  services  of  the  marble-mason. 

3.  The  marble- mason,  in  joining  together  several 
pieces  in  a  monument,  employs  a  kind  of  cement 
composed  of  about  six  parts  of  lime,  one  of  pure 
sand,  a  little  plaster,  and  as  much  water  as  may  be 
necessary  to  form  it  to  the  proper  consistency.  No 
more  of  this  cement  is  used  than  is  required  to  hold 
the  blocks  or  parts  together,  as  one  great  object  of 
the  artist  is  to  hide  the  joints  as  much  as  possible. 
The  substance  thus  interposed,  becomes  as  hard  as  the 
marble  itself. 

4.  The  cement  employed  in  laying  marble  in  com¬ 
mon  or  large  edifices,  is  somewhat  different  from  that 
just  described,  as  it  consists  of  about  three  fourths  of 
lime  and  one  of  sand.  The  latter  substance  is  ob¬ 
tained,  in  an  unmixed  state,  on  the  bays  in  every  part 
of  the  world ;  hence  it  has  received  the  appellation 
of  bay  sand. 

5.  When  it  cannot  be  conveniently  had  in  a  pure 
state,  particles  of  the  same  kind  can  be  separated  in 


118 


THE  S  T  0  N  E-M  A  S  0  N. 


sufficient  quantities  from  their  admixture  with  other 
substances.  This  is  effected  by  sifting  the  compound 
through  a  sieve,  into  a  small  stream  of  water,  which 
carries  off  the  lighter  particles  that  are  unfit  for  use, 
whilst  the  sand,  by  its  superior  specific  gravity,  sinks 
to  the  bottom.  The  part  which  may  be  too  coarse, 
remains  in  the  sieve.  This,  however,  except  the  rub¬ 
bish,  can  be  used  in  the  coarser  kinds  of  masonry. 

6.  The  mortar,  used  in  laying  bricks  and  common 
stone,  has  a  greater  proportion  of  sand,  which  is  gen¬ 
erally  of  an  inferior  quality.  Besides,  the  materials 
are  incorporated  with  less  care.  Lime  for  the  pur¬ 
poses  of  building  is  procured  chiefly  by  calcining 
limestone  in  a  kiln,  with  wood,  coal,  or  some  other 
combustible  substance.  It  is  also  obtained  by  burn¬ 
ing  chalk,  marble,  and  marine  shells.  Water  poured 
upon  newly-burnt  or  quick  lime,  causes  it  to  swell, 
and  fall  to  pieces  into  a  fine  powder.  In  this  state  it 
is  said  to  be  slacked. 

7.  Masonry  is  often  required  in  situations  under 
water,  especially  in  the  construction  of  bridges  and 
locks  of  canals.  Common  mortar  resists  the  action 
of  the  water  very  well,  when  it  has  become  perfectly 
dry ;  yet,  if  it  is  immersed  before  it  has  had  time  to 
harden,  it  dissolves,  and  crumbles  away. 

8.  The  ancient  Romans,  who  practised  building  in 
the  water  to  a  great  extent,  discovered  a  material, 
which,  when  incorporated  with  lime,  either  with  or 
without  sand,  possessed  the  property  of  hardening  in 
a  few  minutes  even  under  water.  This  was  a  kind 
of  earth  found  at  Puteoli,  to  which  was  given  the 
name  of  pulvis  puteolanus,  and  which  is  the  same  now 
called  puzzolana. 

9.  A  substance  denominated  tarras,  terras ,  or  trasf 
found  near  Andernach,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Rhine, 
possesses  the  same  quality  with  puzzolana.  It  is  this 
material  which  has  been  principally  employed  by  the 


THE  STONE-MASON. 


119 


Dutch,  whose  aquatic  structures  are  superior  to  those 
of  any  other  nation  in  Europe.  Various  other  sub¬ 
stances,  such  as  baked  clay  and  calcined  greenstone, 
reduced  to  powder,  afford  a  tolerable  material  for 
water-cements.  Several  quarries  of  water  lime,  which 
is  similar  in  appearance  to  common  limestone,  has 
been  lately  discovered  in  the  United  States,  which, 
being  finely  pulverized  and  mixed  with  sand,  makes 
very  good  water-cement. 

10.  In  buildings  constructed  with  marble  and  oth¬ 
er  costly  stones,  the  walls  are  not  composed  of  these 
materials  in  their  entire  thickness ;  but,  for  the  sake 
of  cheapness,  they  are  formed  on  the  inside  with 
bricks,  commonly  of  a  poor  quality,  so  that  in  re¬ 
ality  they  can  be  considered  only  brick  walls  faced 
with  stone.  These  two  kinds  of  materials  have  no 
other  connexion  than  what  is  produced  by  the  mortar 
which  may  have  been  interposed,  and  the  occasional 
use  of  clamps  of  iron.  Such  walls  are  said  to  be  lia¬ 
ble  to  become  convex  outwardly  from  the  difference 
in  the  shrinking  of  the  cement  employed  in  laying  the 
two  walls. 

11.  The  principal  tools  employed  in  cutting  and 
laying  stone  are  the  saw,  various  kinds  of  steel  points, 
chisels  and  hammers,  the  mallet,  the  square,  the  com¬ 
passes,  the  level,  the  plumb-rule,  the  trowel,  and  the 
hod,  to  which  may  be  added,  the  spade  and  the  hoe. 
The  last  three  instruments,  however,  are  handled  al¬ 
most  exclusively  by  laborers. 

12.  Besides  these,  contrivances  are  required  to 
raise  heavy  materials  to  the  various  positions  which 
they  are  to  occupy.  These  consist,  for  the  most  part, 
of  one  or  two  shafts,  commonly  the  mast  of  an  old 
vessel,  to  which  are  attached  tackle  extending  in  va¬ 
rious  directions,  and  also  those  by  which  the  blocks 
are  to  be  raised.  The  rope  belonging  to  the  hoisting 
tackle  is  pulled  by  a  machine  worked  with  a  crank. 


120 


THE  BRICKMAKER. 


13.  Masonry  is  one  of  the  primitive  arts,  and  was 
carried  to  great  perfection  in  ancient  times.  The 
pyramids  of  Egypt  are  supposed  to  have  stood  about 
three  thousand  years,  and  they  will  probably  remain 
for  centuries  to  come,  monuments  as  well  of  the  folly 
as  of  the  power  and  industry  of  man.  The  temples 
and  other  magnificent  structures  of  Greece  and  Rome, 
exhibit  wonderful  skill  in  masonry,  and  leave  but  little, 
if  anything  new,  to  be  achieved  in  modern  times. 

THE  BRICKMAKER. 

1.  Brick  is  a  sort  of  artificial  stone,  made  princi¬ 
pally  of  argillaceous  earths  formed  in  moulds,  dried 
in  the  sun,  and  burned  with  fire. 

2.  The  earliest  historical  notice  of  bricks  is  found 
in  the  book  of  Genesis,  where  it  is  stated  that  the  pos¬ 
terity  of  Noah  undertook  to  build  a  city  and  a  lofty 
tower  of  this  material.  Whether  the  bricks  were 
really  exposed  to  the  action  of  fire,  as  the  passage  re¬ 
ferred  to  seems  to  imply,  or  only  dried  in  the  sun,  is. 
an  unsettled  point.  But  Herodotus,  who  visited  the 
spot  many  centuries  afterwards,  states  that  the  bricks 
in  the  tower  of  Babylon  were  baked  in  furnaces. 

3.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  earliest  bricks 
were  commonly  hardened  in  the  sun ;  and,  to  give 
them  the  requisite  degree  of  tenacity,  chopped  straw 
was  mixed  with  the  clay.  The  manufacture  of  such 
bricks  was  one  of  the  tasks  imposed  upon  the  Israel¬ 
ites,  during  their  servitude  with  the  Egyptians. 

4.  The  extreme  dryness  and  heat  of  the  climate  in 
some  of  the  eastern  countries,  rendered  the  application 
of  fire  dispensable ;  and  there  are  structures  of  un¬ 
burnt  bricks  still  remaining,  which  were  built  two  or 
three  thousand  years  ago.  Bricks  both  sun-dried  and 
burned,  were  used  by  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans. 

5.  The  walls  of  Babylon,  some  of  the  ancient  struc¬ 
tures  of  Egypt  and  Persia,  the  walls  of  Athens,  the 


THE  BRICKMAKER. 


121 


rotunda  of  the  Pantheon,  the  temple  of  Peace,  and  the 
Thermae,  or  baths,  at  Rome,  were  all  built  of  brick. 
The  most  common  bricks  among  the  Romans  were 
seventeen  inches  long  and  eleven  broad  ;  a  size,  cer¬ 
tainly,  far  preferable,  as  regards  appearance,  to  those 
of  modern  manufacture. 

6.  In  the  United  States,  a  great  proportion  of  the 
edifices,  particularly  in  the  cities  and  towns,  are  con¬ 
structed  of  bricks,  which  are  usually  manufactured  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  place  where  they  are  to  be  used. 
The  common  clay,  of  which  they  are  made,  consists  of 
a  mixture  of  argillaceous  earth  and  sand,  with  a  little 
oxyde  of  iron,  which  causes  them  to  turn  red  in  burn¬ 
ing.  The  material  for  bricks  is  dug  up,  and  thrown 
into  a  large  heap,  late  in  the  fall  or  in  the  winter,  and 
exposed  to  the  influence  of  the  frost  until  spring. 

7.  The  operation  of  making  bricks  is  conducted 
very  systematically ;  and,  although  every  part  of  the 
work  seems  to  be  very  simple,  it  requires  considerable 
dexterity  to  perform  it  properly  and  to  the  best  advan¬ 
tage.  The  workmen,  in  the  yards  about  Philadelphia, 
are  divided  into  gangs  consisting  of  three  men  and  a 
boy.  The  first  is  called  the  temperer,  who  tempers 
the  material  with  water  and  mixes  it  with  a  spade ; 
the  second  is  called  the  wheeler,  who  conveys  it  on  a 
barrow  to  a  table,  where  it  is  formed  in  moulds  by  the 
moulder ,  whence  it  is  carried  to  the  floor  by  the  boy, 
who  is  denominated  the  off-bearer. 

8.  The  bricks  are  suffered  to  remain  on  the  floor 
a  day  or  two,  or  until  they  have  become  dry  enough 
to  be  handled  with  safety.  They  are  then  removed 
and  piled  into  a  hack,  under  cover,  in  such  a  manner 
that  the  air  may  circulate  freely  between  them.  It 
is  the  business  of  the  whole  gang  to  remove  the  bricks 
from  the  floor,  and  also  to  place  them  in  the  kiln  to 
be  burned.  In  both  cases,  each  one  has  his  due  pro¬ 
portion  of  labor  to  perform. 

II.— L 


122 


THE  BRICKMAKER. 


9.  The  day’s  work  of  a  gang,  when  the  weather  is 
favorable,  is  to  make  and  pile  in  the  hack  a  tale  of 
bricks,  which  consists  of  2332,  or  an  even  2000.  The 
former  number  is  called  a  long  tale ,  and  the  latter,  a 
short  tale.  Considerable  skill  and  much  care  are  re¬ 
quired  in  burning  the  bricks  in  a  proper  manner; 
too  much  fire  would  cause  them  to  vitrify,  and  too 
little  would  leave  them  soft,  and  unfit  for  atmospheric 
exposure. 

10.  In  many  places,  the  clay  is  mixed  or  prepared 
for  the  moulder  by  driving  round  upon  it  a  yoke  of 
oxen,  or  by  means  of  a  simple  machine,  consisting  of 
a  beam,  into  which  has  been  driven  a  great  number 
of  spokes.  One  end  of  this  beam  is  confined  in  a  cen¬ 
tral  position,  while  the  other  is  moved  round  in  a 
sweep  by  animal  power. 

11.  Machines  have  also  been  invented  by  the  aid 
of  which  the  clay  may  be  both  mixed  and  moulded ; 
but  these  have  been  very  little  used.  A  machine, 
however,  is  often  employed  in  pressing  bricks  which 
have  been  formed  in  the  usual  manner.  The  pressing 
is  done  after  the  bricks  have  become  partially  dry. 
Such  bricks  are  employed  in  facing  the  walls  of  the 
better  kinds  of  structures. 

12.  Tiles. — Tiles  are  plates  used  for  covering 
roofs.  They  resemble  bricks  in  their  composition  and 
mode  of  manufacture,  and  are  shaped  in  such  a  man¬ 
ner  that  when  placed  upon  a  building,  the  edge  of  one 
tile  receives  that  next  to  it,  so  that  water  cannot  per¬ 
colate  between  them.  Tiles,  both  of  burnt  clay  and 
marble,  were  used  by  the  ancients  ;  and  the  former 
continue  to  be  employed  in  various  parts  of  Europe. 
Flat  tiles  are  used  for  floors  in  many  countries,  and 
especially  in  Italy. 


THE  BRICKLAYER. 


123 


THE  BRICKLAYER. 

1.  The  particular  business  of  the  bricklayer  is  to 
lay  bricks  in  mortar  or  some  other  cement,  so  as  to 
form  one  solid  body  ;  but  he  frequently  constructs  the 
foundations  of  buildings  in  rough  stones,  and,  in  some 
cities,  he  sets  hewn  stone  in  the  superstructure.  In 
the  country,  plastering  is  likewise  connected  with  this 
business. 

2.  Bricklaying  consists  in  placing  one  brick  upon 
another  in  mortar,  chiefly  in  the  construction  of  walls, 
chimneys,  and  ovens.  In  connecting  these  mate¬ 
rials,  especially  in  walls,  two  methods  are  employed, 
one  of  which  is  called  the  English  bond ,  and  the 
other,  the  Flemish  bond.  In  the  former  method,  the 
bricks  are  most  commonly  of  one  quality,  and  are  laid 
crosswise  and  lengthwise  in  alternate  rows.  The 
bricks  which  are  laid  across  the  wall  are  called  head¬ 
ers ,  and  those  which  are  laid  in  the  other  direction 
are  called  stretchers.  The  brick-work  of  the  Romans 
was  of  this  kind,  and  so  are  the  partition- walls  of 
many  modem  brick  edifices. 

3.  The  bricks  employed  in  the  walls  constructed 
according  to  the  Flemish  method,  are  of  two,  and  fre¬ 
quently  of  three,  qualities.  Those  placed  in  the  front, 
or  on  the  external  surface,  are  manufactured  with 
greater  care,  and,  in  some  cases,  are  formed  in  a  lar¬ 
ger  mould.  A  wall  put  up  on  this  principle  may  be 
said  to  consist  of  two  thin  walls  composed  of  stretch¬ 
ers,  with  occasional  headers,  to  unite  them  together. 
The  space  between  them,  when  the  wall  is  thick,  is 
filled  in  with  the  inferior  bricks. 

4.  The  inclosing  walls  of  all  brick  edifices  are 
erected  on  this  plan,  although  they  are  thought  to  be 
more  insecure  than  those  constructed  on  the  old  Eng¬ 
lish  method.  The  reasons  alleged  for  the  prefer¬ 
ence,  are  its  superior  beauty,  and  a  considerable  sa- 


124 


THE  BRICKLAYER. 


ving  in  the  most  expensive  kind  of  bricks.  Greater 
security  might  be  attained  by  the  use  of  larger  bricks, 
say  sixteen  inches  in  length,  and  wide  and  thick  in 
proportion.  Besides,  an  edifice  constructed  of  well- 
made  bricks  of  this  size  would  be  but  little  inferior 
in  appearance  to  marble  itself. 

5.  Most  of  the  instruments  used  by  the  bricklay¬ 
er  are  also  employed  by  the  stone-mason ;  and  they 
have,  therefore,  been  already  mentioned.  The  par¬ 
ticular  method  of  laying  bricks,  in  their  various  appli¬ 
cations,  can  be  learned  by  actual  inspection  in  almost 
every  village,  city,  or  neighborhood,  in  our  country, 
a  more  particular  description  of  the  bricklayer’s  oper¬ 
ations  is  hence  unnecessary. 

6.  Before  closing  this  subject,  however,  it  may  be 
well  to  state  that  the  chimney  appears  to  be  an  in¬ 
vention  comparatively  modern,  since  the  first  certain 
notice  we  have  of  it  is  found  in  an  inscription  at  Ven¬ 
ice,  in  which  it  is  stated  that,  in  1347,  a  great  many 
chimneys  were  thrown  down  by  an  earthquake.  It 
is  conjectured  that  this  valuable  improvement  origi¬ 
nated  in  Italy,  inasmuch  as  it  was  here  that  chimney¬ 
sweeping  was  first  followed  as  a  business. 

7.  Before  the  introduction  of  the  chimney,  it  was 
customary  to  make  the  fire  in  a  hole  or  pit  in  the 
centre  or  some  other  part  of  the  floor,  under  an  open¬ 
ing  formed  in  the  roof,  which,  in  unfavorable  weath¬ 
er,  could  be  closed  by  a  moveable  covering.  Among 
the  Romans,  the  hearth  or  fire-place  was  located  in 
the  atrium  or  hall,  and  around  it  the  lares,  or  house¬ 
hold  gods,  were  placed.  To  avoid  being  infested 
with  smoke,  they  burned  dry  wood  soaked  in  the  lees 
of  oil.  In  warming  other  apartments  of  the  house, 
they  used  portable  furnaces,  in  which  were  placed 
embers  and  burning  coals. 

8.  It  is  said  by  Seneca,  who  flourished  about  the 
middle  of  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era,  that 


THE  PLASTERER. 


125 


in  his  time,  a  particular  kind  of  pipes  was  invented, 
and  affixed  to  the  walls  of  buildings,  through  which 
heat  from  a  subterranean  furnace  was  made  to  circu¬ 
late.  By  this  means,  the  rooms  were  heated  more 
equally.  In  the  southern  parts  of  Italy  and  Spain, 
there  are  still  very  few  chimneys.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  many  other  countries,  where  the  climate  is 
pleasant  or  very  wai'm. 

9.  Hollinshead,  who  wrote  during  the  reign  of 
Queen  Elizabeth,  thus  describes  the  rudeness  of  the 
preceding  generation  in  the  arts  of  life  :  “  There  were 
very  few  chimneys  even  in  capital  towns  :  the  fire  was 
laid  to  the  wall,  and  the  smoke  issued  out  at  the  roof, 
or  door,  or  window.  The  houses  were  wattled,  and 
plastered  over  with  clay ;  and  all  the  furniture  and 
utensils  were  of  wood.  The  people  slept  on  straw 
pallets,  with  a  log  of  wood  for  a  pillow.” 

THE  PLASTERER. 

1.  In  modern  practice,  plastering  occurs  in  many 
departments  of  architecture.  It  is  more  particularly 
applied  to  the  ceilings  and  interior  walls  of  buildings, 
and  also  in  rough-casting  on  their  exterior. 

2.  In  plastering  the  interior  parts  of  buildings,  three 
coatings  of  mortar  are  commonly  applied  in  succes¬ 
sion.  The  mortar  for  the  first  coat  is  composed  of 
about  twelve  parts  of  sand,  six  of  lime,  and  three  of 
hair,  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  water  to  bring  it  to 
the  proper  consistence ;  that  for  the  second  coat  con¬ 
tains  a  less  proportion  of  lime  and  hair ;  and  that  for 
the  third  coat  is  composed  exclusively  of  lime  and 
water. 

3.  The  mortar  is  applied  directly  to  the  solid  wall, 
or  to  thin  strips  of  wood  called  laths,  which  have  been 
fastened  with  small  nails  to  the  joists,  and  other  parts 
of  the  frame  of  the  building.  The  tools  with  which 
the  plasterer  applies  the  mortar  are  trowels  of  different 

L  2 


126 


THE  PLASTERER. 


I 
I 

sizes  and  shapes,  and  the  hawk.  The  latter  instru¬ 
ment  is  a  board  about  a  foot  square,  with  a  short 
handle  projecting  at  right  angles  from  the  bottom. 

4.  In  all  well- finished  rooms,  cornices  are  run  at 
the  junction  of  the  wall  and  ceiling.  The  materials 
of  these  cornices  are  lime,  water,  and  plaster.  The 
lime  and  water  are  first  incorporated,  and  the  plaster 
is  added  with  an  additional  quantity  of  water,  as  it 
may  be  needed  for  immediate  application.  The  com¬ 
position  is  applied  in  a  semifluid  state,  but  the  plaster 
causes  it  to  set ,  or  to  become  solid  immediately.  In 
the  mean  time,  the  workman  applies  to  it,  in  a  pro¬ 
gressive  manner,  the  edge  of  a  solid  piece  of  wood,  in 
which  an  exact  profile  of  the  proposed  cornice  has 
been  cut. 

5.  Ornaments  of  irregular  shape  are  cast  in  moulds 
of  wax  or  plaster  of  Paris,  and  these  are  formed  on 
models  of  the  proposed  figures  in  clay.  Such  orna¬ 
ments  were  formerly  the  productions  of  manual  opera¬ 
tions  performed  by  ingenious  men  called  ornamental 
plasterers.  The  casts  are  all  made  of  the  purest  plas¬ 
ter  ;  and,  after  having  been  polished,  they  are  fastened 
to  the  proper  place  with  the  same  substance  saturated 
with  water. 

6.  The  branch  of  this  business  called  rough-casting, 
consists  in  applying  mortar  to  the  exterior  walls  of 
houses.  The  mode  in  which  the  work  is  performed 
varies  but  little  from  that  adopted  in  plastering  the 
walls  of  apartments.  It,  however,  requires  only  two 
coats  of  the  cement ;  and,  when  these  have  been  ap¬ 
plied,  the  surface  is  marked  off  in  imitation  of  masonry. 

It  is  likewise  sometimes  colored,  that  it  may  resemble 
marble  or  some  other  stone. 

7.  The  cement  is  commonly  made  of  sharp  sand 
and  lime  ;  but  sometimes  a  kind  of  argillaceous  stone, 
calcined  in  kilns  and  afterwards  reduced  to  powder  by 
mechanical  means,  makes  a  part  of  the  composition. 


THE  SLATER. 


127 


The  qualities  of  this  material  were  first  discovered  by 
a  Mr.  Parker,  who  obtained  letters  patent  for  this  ap. 
pHcation  of  it,  in  England,  in  1796  ;  hence  it  has  been 
called  Parker's  cement . 

THE  SLATER. 

1.  Slate  stone  is  valuable  for  the  property  of  split¬ 
ting  in  one  direction,  so  as  to  afford  fragments  of  a 
sufficient  size  and  thinness  to  answer  several  purposes, 
but  especially  for  covering  houses  and  for  writing 
slates.  The  best  slates  are  those  which  are  even  and 
compact,  and  which  absorb  the  least  water. 

2.  The  slates  used  in  the  United  States,  are  obtain¬ 
ed  either  from  our  own  quarries,  of  which  there  are 
several,  or  from  those  of  Wales,  in  the  county  of  Caer¬ 
narvonshire.  The  stone  is  quarried  in  masses,  which 
are  afterwards  split  into  pieces  of  suitable  thinness. 
These  are  trimmed  to  an  oblong  figure  by  means  of 
a  knife  and  a  steel  edge,  which  act  upon  the  slate 
much  in  the  manner  of  a  large  pair  of  shears. 

3.  As  it  is  impossible  to  dress  all  the  slates  to  the 
same  size  without  much  waste  of  material,  those  en¬ 
gaged  in  their  manufacture  have  introduced  several 
sizes,  the  smallest  of  which  are  made  of  the  fragments 
of  the  larger  kinds.  These  are  designated  by  names 
known  to  the  trade,  and  to  those  practically  conver¬ 
sant  with  the  art  of  building. 

4.  The  slates,  when  brought  to  market,  especially 
those  from  Wales,  require  additional  dressing  to  fit 
them  for  use.  The  manner  of  applying  them  to  roofs 
differs  but  little  from  that  employed  in  putting  on 
shingles,  as  they  are  lapped  over  each  other  in  the 
same  way,  and  confined  to  their  place  by  means  of 
nails  of  a  similar  kind.  The  nails,  however,  have  a 
broader  head,  and  are  somewhat  larger,  varying  in 
size  to  suit  the  dimensions  of  the  slate.  The  holes  in 
the  slate  for  the  nails  are  made  with  a  steel  point  at- 


128 


THE  SLATER. 


tached  to  the  slater’s  hammer,  or  to  his  knife,  tech¬ 
nically  called  a  saix. 

5.  Slates  are  preferable  to  shingles  on  account  of 
their  durability,  and,  in  a  majority  of  situations,  for 
their  fire-proof  quality.  They,  however,  are  objec¬ 
tionable  on  account  of  their  weight  and  expensiveness, 
and  are  therefore  beginning  to  be  superseded  in  this 
country  by  sheets  of  zinc,  and  by  those  of  iron  coated 
with  tin.  Copper  and  lead  are  also  used  for  roofs, 
but  the  metals  just  mentioned  are  beginning  to  ex¬ 
clude  them  altogether. 

6.  A  serious  objection  to  metal  roofs  has  been  their 
liability  to  crack,  caused  by  the  contraction  and  expan¬ 
sion  of  the  material,  in  consequence  of  variations  in 
the  temperature  of  the  weather ;  but  a  particular 
method  of  putting  the  sheets  together  has  been  lately 
devised,  which  appears  to  obviate  the  difficulty.  Tiles 
are  not  used  in  this  country,  although  in  Europe  they 
are  very  common. 


THE  PAINTER,  AND  THE  GLAZIER. 

THE  HOUSE  AND  SIGN  PAINTER. 

1.  The  painting  which  is  the  subject  of  this  article 
relates  to  forming  letters  and  sometimes  ornamental 
and  significant  figures  on  signs,  as  well  as  to  the  ap¬ 
plication  of  paints  to  houses  and  other  structures,  for 
the  purpose  of  improving  their  appearance,  and  of 
preserving  them  from  the  influence  of  the  atmosphere 
and  other  destructive  agents. 

2.  The  substances  capable  of  being  employed  by 
the  house  and  sign  painter,  comprise  a  great  variety 
of  articles,  derived  from  the  mineral,  vegetable,  and 
animal  kingdoms  ;  but  he  ordinarily  confines  his  se¬ 
lection  to  but  few,  among  which  are  white  lead,  lith¬ 
arge,  Spanish  brown,  yellow  ochre,  chrome  yellow, 


130 


THE  PAINTER. 


red  ochre,  terra  di  sienna,  lampblack,  verdigris,  lin¬ 
seed-oil,  spirits  of  turpentine,  and  gold-leaf. 

3.  White  lead  and  litharge  are  manufactured  in 
great  quantities  at  chemical  works,  sometimes  estab¬ 
lished  for  the  express  purpose  of  making  these  and 
some  other  preparations  of  lead.  The  substances  of 
which  we  are  now  speaking,  are  produced  in  the  fol¬ 
lowing  manner  :  the  lead,  in  form  of  a  continued 
sheet,  about  three  feet  long,  six  inches  wide,  and  one 
line  in  thickness,  is  wound  spirally  up  in  such  a 
manner,  that  the  coils  may  stand  about  half  an  inch 
apart. 

4.  The  metal  in  this  form  is  placed  vertically  in 
earthen  vessels,  at  the  bottom  of  which  is  some  strong 
vinegar.  These  vessels,  being  placed  in  sand,  horse 
manure,  or  tan,  are  exposed  to  a  gentle  heat,  which 
causes  the  gradual  evaporation  of  the  vinegar.  The 
vapor  thus  produced,  assisted  by  the  oxygen  which 
is  present,  converts  the  exposed  surface  into  a  car¬ 
bonate  of  lead,  the  substance  known  as  white  lead,  or 
ceruse. 

5.  The  corrosion  of  one  of  these  sheets  occupies 
from  three  to  six  weeks,  during  which  time  it  is  re¬ 
peatedly  uncoiled  and  scraped.  Litharge,  or  flake 
white,  is  nothing  more  than  the  densest  and  thickest 
scales  produced  in  the  manner  just  described.  It  can 
be  obtained  in  a  pure  state  from  the  dealers  in  paints, 
whereas  the  white  lead  of  commerce  is  most  common¬ 
ly  adulterated  with  chalk. 

6.  Spanish  brown,  yellow  ochre,  and  terra  di  sien¬ 
na,  are  earths  impregnated  with  iron  in  different  de¬ 
grees  of  oxydation.  Red  ochre  is  yellow  ochre  burn¬ 
ed.  Chrome  yellow  is  extensively  manufactured  in 
Baltimore,  from  the  chromate  of  iron,  found  near  that 
city.  In  chemical  phraseology,  the  manufactured  ar¬ 
ticle  is  the  chromate  of  lead,  since  the  chromate  is 


THE  PAINTER.  131 

separated  from  the  iron  by  the  aid  of  a  solution  of 
the  nitrate  or  acetate  of  lead. 

7.  Linseed. oil  is  obtained  from  flax-seed  by  press¬ 
ure.  It  is  afterwards  filtered,  and  then  suffered  to 
remain  at  rest,  to  precipitate  and  clarify.  This  oil 
improves  in  quality  by  keeping,  as  it  becomes,  in  a 
few  years,  as  transparent  as  water.  In  this  state,  it 
is  employed  in  the  finest  painting. 

8.  Before  the  oil  is  used,  it  is  commonly  boiled 
with  a  small  quantity  of  litharge  and  red  lead,  to 
cause  it  to  dry  rapidly,  after  the  paint  has  been  ap¬ 
plied.  During  the  boiling,  the  scum  is  removed  as 
fast  as  it  rises,  and  this  is  mixed  with  inferior  paints 
of  a  dark  color.  Linseed-oil,  thus  prepared,  is  vend¬ 
ed  by  dealers  in  paints,  under  the  name  of  boiled  oil. 

9.  Spirits  of  turpentine  is  produced  by  distilling 
with  water  the  resinous  juice  or  sap  of  several  species 
of  the  pine.  The  residuum,  after  distillation,  is  the 
turpentine  of  commerce.  Spirits  of  turpentine  is 
mixed  with  paints,  to  cause  them  to  dry  with  rapidity. 
Like  oil,  it  improves  with  age,  and  it  is  sold  in  the 
same  manner  by  the  common  wine  measure. 

10.  White  lead,  and  several  other  principal  paints, 
are  purchased  in  their  crude  condition,  and  reduced 
to  a  state  of  minute  division  in  paint-mills.  They  are 
afterwards  mixed  with  boiled  oil,  and  put  up  in  kegs 
of  different  sizes  for  sale.  Many  articles,  however, 
are  pulverized,  and  sold  in  a  dry  state.  The  prepar¬ 
ation  of  paints  is  commonly  a  distinct  business,  and 
very  few  painters  seem  to  be  acquainted  with  the 
mode  in  which  it  is  performed. 

11.  In  mixing  colors  for  house  and  sign  painting, 
white  lead  forms  the  basis  of  all  the  ingredients. 
This  the  color  preparer,  or  the  painter  himself,  mod¬ 
ifies  and  changes  by  the  addition  of  coloring  mate¬ 
rials,  until  it  is  tinged  with  the  proposed  hue.  The 
pigments  derived  from  vegetable  bodies,  produce,  when 


132 


THE  PAINTER. 


first  applied  to  surfaces,  a  brilliant  effect ;  but  they 
cannot  long  resist  the  combined  influence  of  air  and 
light,  while  the  mineral  colors,  in  the  same  exposure, 
remain  unchanged. 

12.  Painters,  in  the  execution  of  their  work,  com- 
monly  lay  on  three  coats  of  paint.  In  communicating 
a  white,  the  two  first  coats  are  composed  of  white 
lead  and  oil ;  and  in  the  last,  spirits  of  turpentine  is 
substituted  for  the  oil,  for  the  inside  work.  For  the 
outside  of  buildings,  especially  in  warm  and  dry  cli¬ 
mates,  this  liquid  is  inapplicable,  since  it  causes  the 
paint  to  crack  and  flake  off*.  It  is,  however,  frequent¬ 
ly  used,  when  the  painter  is  compelled  to  do  his  work 
at  too  low  a  rate,  or  when  he  is  regardless  of  his  rep¬ 
utation. 

13.  For  other  colors,  the  composition  for  the  dif¬ 
ferent  coats  is  the  same,  except  for  the  two  last,  in 
which  other  coloring  substances  are  added  to  the  ma¬ 
terials  just  mentioned,  to  give  the  proposed  hue.  The 
tools  for  painting  houses  are  few  in  number,  and  con¬ 
sist  chiefly  of  brushes  of  different  sizes,  made  of  hog’s 
bristles. 

14.  Graining  is  understood,  among  painters,  to  be 
the  imitation  of  the  different  species  of  scarce  woods 
used  for  the  best  articles  of  furniture.  But  the  man¬ 
ner  in  which  this  kind  of  work  is  executed  can  be 
hardly  gathered  from  a  concise  description,  although 
it  may  be  easily  learned  from  a  practical  exhibition  of 
the  process  by  a  painter. 

15.  Ornamental  painting  embraces  the  execution  of 
friezes  and  other  decorative  parts  of  architecture  on 
walls  and  ceilings.  The  ornaments  are  drawn  in  out¬ 
line  with  a  black-lead  pencil,  and  then  painted  and 
shaded,  to  give  the  proper  effect.  Some  embellish¬ 
ments  of  this  kind  are  executed  in  gold-leaf,  in  the 
same  manner  with  gold  letters  on  signs.  This  kind 
of  work  is  called  gilding  in  oil. 


THE  GLAZIER. 


133 


16.  Painting  in  oil,  as  applied  to  the  execution  of 
designs,  seems  to  have  been  invented,  or  at  least  to 
have  been  brought  into  notice,  in  the  early  part  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  by  John  Van  Eyck,  of  Flanders. 
Before  this  time,  house-painting,  so  far  as  the  exterior 
was  concerned,  could  have  been  but  little,  if  at  all, 
practised. 

17.  One  profitable  branch  of  common  painting  is 
that  of  painting  and  lettering  signs.  In  performing 
this  kind  of  work,  the  sign  is  first  covered  with  two 
or  three  uniform  coats  of  paint.  The  letters  are 
next  slightly  sketched  with  chalk  or  a  lead-pencil, 
and  then  formed  in  colors  with  a  camels’-hair  brush. 
When  the  letters  are  to  be  gilt,  the  process,  so  far,  is 
precisely  the  same.  The  leaf  is  laid  upon  the  letters, 
while  the  paint  is  in  a  tenacious  state,  and  is  suffered 
to  remain  untouched,  until  the  oil  has  become  dry, 
after  which  the  superfluous  gold  is  removed.  The 
whole  is  then  covered  with  an  oil  varnish,  which,  in 
plain  lettering,  completes  the  operation. 

THE  GLAZIER. 

1.  Glazing,  as  practised  in  this  country,  consists 
chiefly  in  setting  panes  of  glass  in  window-sashes. 
In  the  performance  of  this  operation,  the  glazier  first 
fits  the  panes  to  the  sash  by  cutting  away,  if  neces¬ 
sary,  a  part  of  the  latter  with  a  chisel ;  he  then  fast¬ 
ens  the  glass  slightly  with  little  pieces  of  tin,  which 
have  been  cut  to  a  triangular  shape ;  and,  lastly,  he 
applies  putty  at  their  junction  with  the  sash,  and  by 
this  means  confines  them  firmly  and  permanently  to 
their  place.  The  putty  is  made  of  linseed-oil  and 
whiting.  The  latter  of  these  materials  is  chalk  cleared 
of  its  grosser  impurities,  and  ground  in  a  color-mill. 

2.  Plain  glazing  is  so  simple,  that  no  person  need 
serve  an  apprenticeship  to  learn  it ;  and  there  are  but 
few  who  confine  their  attention  to  this  business  exclu- 

II. — M 


134 


THE  GLAZIER. 


sively.  It  is  commonly  connected  with  some  other  of 
greater  difficulty,  such  as  that  of  the  carpenter  and 
joiner,  or  house  and  sign  painter,  but  with  the  latter 
more  frequently  than  any  other. 

3.  When  the  glass,  as  received  from  the  manufac¬ 
turer,  may  not  be  of  the  size  and  shape  required  for 
a  proposed  application,  the  panes  are  cut  by  means  of 
a  diamond  fixed  in  lead,  and  secured  by  a  ferrule  of 
brass,  which  is  fastened  to  a  small  cylindrical  han¬ 
dle  of  hard  wood.  This  instrument  is  used,  in  con¬ 
junction  with  a  straight  edge,  like  a  pencil  in  ruling 
lines  on  paper  for  writing.  The  glass  is  afterwards 
broken  in  the  direction  of  the  fracture,  by  a  slight 
pressure  downwards. 

4.  Although  glass  windows  seem  to  us  to  be  indis¬ 
pensable  to  comfort,  yet  glass  had  been  manufactured 
many  centuries  in  considerable  perfection,  before  it 
was  applied  to  this  purpose.  The  houses  in  oriental 
countries  had  commonly  no  windows  in  front,  and 
those  on  the  other  sides  were  provided  with  curtains, 
or  with  a  moveable  trellis-work  in  summer,  and  in 
winter  with  oiled  paper. 

5.  In  Rome  and  other  cities  of  the  empire,  thin 
leaves  of  a  certain  kind  of  stone  called  lapis  specula - 
ris  were  used.  Windows  of  this  material,  however, 
were  employed  only  in  the  principal  apartments  of 
great  houses,  in  gardens,  sedans,  and  the  like.  Paper 
made  of  the  Egyptian  papyrus,  linen  cloth,  thin  plates 
of  marble,  agate,  and  horn,  seem  likewise  to  have 
been  used. 

6.  The  first  certain  information  we  have  of  the 
employment  of  glass  panes  in  windows,  is  found  in 
the  writings  of  Gregory  of  Tours,  who  flourished  in 
the  last  quarter  of  the  sixth  century.  This  prelate 
states  that  the  churches  were  furnished  with  windows 
of  colored  glass,  in  the  fourth  century  after  Christ. 
The  oldest  glass  windows  now  in  existence  were  of 


THE  GLAZIER. 


135 


the  twelfth  century,  and  are  in  the  Church  of  St. 
Denis,  the  most  ancient  edifice  of  this  description  in 
France. 

7.  ./Eneas  Sylvius  accounted  it  one  of  the  most 
striking  instances  of  splendor  which  he  met  with  in 
Vienna,  in  1458,  that  most  of  the  houses  had  glass 
windows.  In  France,  all  the  churches  had  these  con¬ 
veniences  in  the  sixteenth  century,  although  there 
were  but  few  in  private  dwellings.  Talc,  isinglass, 
plates  of  white  horn,  oiled  paper,  and  thinly  shaved 
leather,  were  used  instead  of  glass.  A  similar  state 
of  things  prevailed  in  England. 

8.  The  glass  used  for  the  windows  of  churches  and 
other  public  buildings,  after  the  fourth  century,  was 
very  commonly  intrinsically  colored  or  superficially 
painted.  Painting  on  glass  had  its  origin  in  the  third 
century,  and  at  first  it  consisted  in  the  mere  arrange¬ 
ment  of  small  pieces  of  glass  of  different  colors  in 
some  sort  of  symmetry,  and  constituted  a  kind  of  mo¬ 
saic-work. 

9.  Afterwards,  when  more  regular  designs  came  to 
be  attempted,  such  as  the  human  figure,  the  whole  ad¬ 
dress  of  the  artist  went  no  farther  than  drawing  the 
outlines  of  the  objects  in  black  on  glass  resembling 
in  color  the  subjects  to  be  represented.  The  art,  in 
this  state  of  advancement,  was  spread  over  a  great 
part  of  Europe. 

10.  About  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century,  a 
method  of  fixing  metallic  colors  in  glass  by  means  of 
heat  was  discovered,  and  from  this  the  art  derived 
great  advantages.  It  flourished  most  during  the  fif¬ 
teenth  and  sixteenth  centuries ;  but  it  declined  in  the 
following  age,  and  in  the  eighteenth  century  it  was 
very  little  practised  in  any  country.  It  has,  however, 
been  partially  revived,  of  late,  in  Germany.  A  very 
good  specimen  of  this  kind  of  painting,  as  well  as  of 
colored  glass,  may  be  seen  in  St.  John’s  Church,  in 
Philadelphia. 


THE  TURNER. 


1.  Turning  is  a  very  useful  art,  by  which  a  great 
variety  of  articles  are  almost  exclusively  manufactu¬ 
red.  Besides  this,  it  constitutes  a  considerable  part 
of  the  operations  of  several  trades  and  occupations, 
such  as  the  chairmaker,  machinist,  cabinet-maker, 
brass-founder,  &c.,  since  every  substance  of  a  solid' 
nature  can  be  submitted  to  the  process. 

2.  Turning  is  performed  in  a  lathe,  an  apparatus 
constructed  in  various  ways,  according  to  the  particu¬ 
lar  purposes  to  which  it  is  to  be  applied,  although,  in 
all  cases,  the  general  principle  of  its  operation  is  the 
same.  The  kind  represented  in  the  above  picture,  is 
used  for  plain  or  circular  turning  in  wood.  On  ex¬ 
amination,  it  will  be  perceived,  that  two  wheels  of  dif¬ 
ferent  sizes  make  essential  parts  of  it.  On  the  extend- 


THE  TURNER. 


137 


ed  axle  of  the  smaller  one,  is  fastened  the  piece  to  be 
turned ;  and  immediately  in  front  of  this  is  the  rest , 
on  which  the  cutting  instrument  is  supported  during 
the  performance  of  the  operation. 

3.  When  the  material  to  be  turned  is  wood,  it  is 
commonly  cut  to  the  proper  length  with  a  saw,  and 
brought  to  a  form  approaching  to  the  cylindrical  by 
means  of  an  axe  or  drawing-knife.  It  is  next  fasten¬ 
ed  in  the  lathe.  This  is  done  by  different  means, 
varying  according  to  the  particular  form  of  the  thing 
to  be  turned.  In  plain  circular  turning,  as  applied  to 
bed-posts,  legs  of  tables,  and  rounds  for  chairs,  the 
piece  is  supported  at  each  end.  That  at  the  left  hand 
is  driven  upon  a  piece  of  steel,  which  has  been  screwed 
upon  the  extended  axle  of  the  small  wheel ;  and  the 
other  end  is  fixed  upon  a  steel  point,  placed  in  an  up¬ 
right  moveable  piece  called  a  puppet.Jiead. 

4.  In  case  the  wood  is  to  be  turned  on  the  inside, 
as  in  making  a  bowl,  cup,  or  mortar,  the  piece  is  sup¬ 
ported  altogether  at  one  end,  by  means  of  a  hollow 
cylinder  of  wood,  brass,  or  iron,  called  a  chuck ,  which 
receives  it  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  is  screwed 
upon  the  end  of  the  axle.  The  axle  is  sometimes 
called  the  mandril,  and  any  extension  of  it,  by  means 
of  a  piece  added  to  it  for  a  centre,  on  which  anything 
may  be  turned  which  will  admit  of  a  hole  through  it, 
is  denominated  an  arbor . 

5.  The  tools  used  in  turning  wood  and  ivory,  are 
gouges  and  chisels  of  different  sizes  and  shapes.  In 
using  these,  they  are  placed  upon  the  rest ,  and  brought 
in  contact  with  the  revolving  material  of  the  proposed 
figure.  The  gouge  is  employed  in  cutting  away  the 
rough  exterior,  and  the  chisel,  in  producing  a  still  fur¬ 
ther  reduction,  and  a  greater  smoothness  of  surface. 

6.  In  working  in  very  hard  wood  and  in  ivory,  the 
grooving  tool,  a  sharp  pointed  instrument  somewhat 
similar  to  the  graver,  is  used  in  the  first  part  of  the 


M2 


138 


THE  TURNER. 


operation ;  and  by  this  the  grain  of  the  substance  is 
cut  into  contiguous  grooves,  and  prepared  for  an  easy 
reduction  by  the  chisel.  The  instruments  for  turning 
metals  are  numerous,  but  they  differ  in  some  respects 
from  those  for  cutting  wood. 

7.  In  almost  every  kind  of  turning,  a  tool  called  the 
calipers  is  necessary  for  measuring  the  diameters  of 
the  work.  In  its  form,  it  bears  some  resemblance  to 
the  compasses  or  dividers.  One  or  both  of  the  legs, 
however,  are  curved  ;  and  one  kind  of  this  instrument 
has  four  legs,  two  curved,  or  two  straight,  at  each  end, 
with  a  pivot  in  the  centre,  on  which  it  is  opened  and 
shut.  The  former  of  these  is  employed  in  measuring 
the  dimensions  of  outside  work,  and  the  latter,  for  that 
on  the  inside.  This  kind  is  called  the  in-and-out  cal¬ 
ipers  ;  and  it  is  especially  useful  in  turning  a  cylinder, 
or  pin,  which  shall  exactly  fit  an  internal  cylinder  al¬ 
ready  made,  and  vice  versd . 

8.  There  is  but  little  difference  in  the  management 
of  turning  different  substances.  The  principal  thing 
to  be  attended  to  is  to  adapt  the  velocity  of  the  motion 
to  the  nature  of  the  material ;  thus  wood  will  work 
best  with  the  greatest  velocity  that  can  be  given  to  it. 
Brass  should  have  a  motion  about  half  as  quick  as 
wood,  and  iron  and  steel  still  less ;  for,  in  operating 
on  metallic  substances,  the  tool  is  liable  to  become  hot, 
and  lose  its  temper  ;  besides  which,  a  certain  time  is 
requisite  for  the  act  of  cutting  to  take  place. 

9.  When  compared  with  many  other  mechanical 
operations,  the  art  of  turning  may  be  considered  as 
perfect  in  its  accuracy  and  expedition.  The  lathe  is, 
therefore,  resorted  to  for  the  performance  of  every 
work  of  which  it  is  capable ;  nor  is  its  use  confined  to 
the  production  of  forms  perfectly  cylindrical,  for  it  can 
be  easily  made  to  produce  figures  of  irregular  shape, 
such  as  lasts,  gunstocks,  &c. 

10.  The  lathe  was  well  known  to  the  Greeks  and 


THE  TURNER. 


139 


Romans,  as  well  as  to  many  other  nations  of  antiquity. 
Diodorus  Siculus,  who  wrote  in  the  time  of  Julius 
Caesar  and  Augustus,  says  that  it  was  invented  by  one 
Talus,  a  nephe  of  Daedalus.  Pliny  ascribes  it  to 
Theodore,  of  Samos,  and  mentions  one  Thericles,  who 
had  rendered  himself  very  famous  by  his  dexterity  in 
managing  the  lathe.  The  Greek  and  Latin  authors 
frequently  mention  this  instrument ;  and,  among  the 
ancients,  it  was  customary  to  express  the  accuracy 
and  nicety  of  a  thing  by  saying,  it  was  formed  in  a 
lathe. 


THE  CABINET-MAKER, 'AND  THE  UPHOLSTERER. 


THE  CABINET-MAKER. 

1.  It  is  the  business  of  the  cabinet-maker  to  man¬ 
ufacture  particular  kinds  of  household  furniture,  such 
as  tables,  stands,  bureaus,  sideboards,  desks,  book¬ 
cases,  sofas,  bedsteads,  &c.,  as  well  as  a  certain  de¬ 
scription  of  chairs  made  of  mahogany  and  maple. 
Many  of  the  operations  of  this  business  are  similar  to 
those  of  the  carpenter  and  joiner,  although  they  re¬ 
quire  to  be  conducted  with  greater  nicety  and  exact¬ 
ness. 

2.  The  qualifications  of  a  finished  cabinet-maker 
are  numerous  and  of  difficult  acquisition  ;  so  that  they 
are  seldom  concentrated  in  any  single  individual. 
He  requires  not  only  a  correct  taste,  but  also  a  knowl¬ 
edge  of  drawing,  architecture,  and  mechanics,  besides 
the  abilities  of  a  good  practical  workman. 


THE  CABINE  T-M  AKER. 


141 


3.  A  knowledge  of  drawing  is  especially  useful  in 
designing  new  articles  of  furniture,  or  in  improving 
the  form  of  those  which  have  been  already  introduced. 
It  also  enables  the  artist  to  determine  with  accuracy 
what  would  be  the  general  effect  of  furniture,  were 
different  pieces  of  it  placed  in  any  proposed  apart¬ 
ment  ;  and,  combined  with  architectural  knowledge, 
it  enables  him  to  adapt  the  style  of  his  wares  to  that 
of  the  building  for  which  they  may  be  designed. 

4.  In  general,  the  principles  of  this  business  are 
fixed,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  mode  of  operating  in  the 
execution  of  the  work ;  yet  continual  changes  are 
made  in  the  form  and  construction  of  its  various  arti¬ 
cles,  so  as  to  keep  pace  with  the  advancement  of  cor¬ 
rect  taste,  or  with  the  caprices  of  fashion.  In  fact, 
the  shapes  of  furniture  are  almost  as  changeable  as 
those  of  female  dress ;  and  this  causes  many  expen¬ 
sive  pieces  to  fall  into  disuse,  while  others  are  in¬ 
troduced,  which,  for  a  time,  are  considered  indispen¬ 
sable  to  comfort,  and  which  in  turn  enjoy  but  a  tem¬ 
porary  favor. 

5.  The  cabinet-maker  uses  various  kinds  of  wood 
in  the  manufacture  of  his  wares  ;  but  those  which  are 
most  frequently  employed  in  the  United  States  are 
pine,  maple,  poplar,  cherry,  black  walnut,  white  oak, 
beach,  mahogany,  and  rose,  all  of  which  are  abundant 
in  this  country,  except  the  last  two.  Mahogany  is 
brought  in  great  quantities  from  the  West  Indies  and 
South  America ;  rose-wood  is  obtained  chiefly  from 
the  West  Indies  and  Brazil,  although  it  was  first  in¬ 
troduced  into  notice  from  the  island  of  Cyprus. 

6.  The  applicability  of  mahogany  to  the  manufac¬ 
ture  of  cabinet-ware,  was  accidentally  discovered  in 
London,  about  the  year  1724.  A  physician,  named 
Gibbons,  received  a  present  of  some  of  the  planks 
from  his  brother,  a  sea-captain,  who  had  brought 
them  from  the  W  jst  Indies,  chiefly  as  ballast.  The 


142 


THE  CABINE  T-M  AKER. 


doctor  was,  at  that  time,  erecting  a  house,  and,  sup- 
posing  them  to  be  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  building, 
gave  them  to  his  workmen,  who,  on  trial,  rejected 
them  as  being  too  hard  to  be  wrought  with  their  tools. 

7.  A  cabinet-maker  was  next  employed  to  make  a 
candle-box  of  some  of  it,  and  he  also  complained  of 
the  hardness  of  the  timber ;  but,  when  the  box  was 
finished,  it  outshone  in  beauty  all  the  doctor’s  other 
furniture.  He  then  required  a  bureau  to  be  made  of 
the  same  kind  of  material ;  and  this,  having  been  fin¬ 
ished,  became  the  subject  of  exhibition  to  his  friends, 
as  a  piece  of  remarkable  beauty.  The  wood  was 
immediately  taken  into  general  favor,  and  it  soon  be¬ 
came  an  article  of  merchandise  of  considerable  im¬ 
portance. 

8.  In  giving  the  reader  a  view  of  the  operative 
part  of  this  business,  we  have  selected  the  bureau  as 
affording  the  best  means  of  illustration.  The  mate¬ 
rial  which  composes  the  frame  and  drawers  of  this 
piece  of  furniture,  is  commonly  some  kind  of  soft 
wood,  such  as  pine  or  poplar ;  and  this  is  faced  with 
thin  layers  of  mahogany  in  those  parts  which  are  to 
be  exposed  to  view. 

9.  The  materials  for  the  frame  and  drawers  are 
first  marked  out,  and  the  several  pieces  reduced  to 
the  form  and  dimensions  required,  with  planes  and 
other  instruments.  Thin  pieces  of  mahogany  are 
firmly  fixed  to  the  surfaces  which  require  them. 
This  part  of  the  work  is  called  veneering.  The  work¬ 
man  prepares  the  surface  of  the  soft  wood  for  the  ve¬ 
neer,  by  cutting  it  into  small  contiguous  grooves  by 
means  of  a  small  plane,  the  cutting  edge  of  which  is 
full  of  little  notches  and  teeth. 

10.  -Melted  glue  having  been  spread  upon  both  sur¬ 
faces  with  a  brush,  the  parts  are  placed  in  contact, 
and  firmly  pressed  together  by  means  of  hand-screws. 
Before  the  screws  are  applied,  the  surface  of  the  ve- 


THE  CABINE  T-M  AKER. 


143 


neer  is  covered  with  a  piece  of  heated  board,  termed, 
in  this  application,  a  caul.  One  piece  of  this  kind 
commonly  serves  a  veneer  on  each  side  of  it  at  the 
same  time. 

11.  The  mahogany  thus  attached  to  the  softer  wood, 
is  afterwards  wrought  with  the  toothed-plane ,  and 
others  of  the  common  kind.  It  is  then  scraped  with 
a  flat  piece  of  steel,  having  edges  which  act  upon  the 
surface  in  the  same  manner  as  pieces  of  broken  panes 
of  glass.  The  polishing  is  finished,  so  far  as  it  is 
carried  at  this  stage  of  the  process,  by  the  use  of 
sand-paper. 

12.  The  several  pieces  which  compose  the  frame 
of  the  bureau  are  put  together  with  the  joint  called 
mortice  and  tenon ;  and  those  which  form  the  four 
sides  of  the  drawers,  with  that  called  dove-tail .  The 
bottom  is  united  to  the  sides  on  the  right  and  left,  and 
sometimes  in  front,  by  the  groove-and-tongue ,  and  its 
rear  edge  is  fastened  with  a  few  nails.  The  hearers 
of  the  drawers  are  fastened  on  by  means  of  nails. 

13.  The  joints  are  made  to  fit  not  only  by  the  ac¬ 
curacy  of  the  work,  but  by  the  application  of  glue 
previous  to  the  union  of  the  parts ;  this  is  especially 
the  case  with  the  mortice  and  tenon.  The  back  of 
the  bureau  is  composed  of  some  cheap  wood,  such  as 
pine  or  poplar  ;  but  the  panel  at  each  end  is  most 
commonly  plain  mahogany  through  its  entire  thick¬ 
ness. 

14.  The  parts  which  are  to  be  exposed  to  view  are 
next  to  be  varnished  and  polished.  The  material  for 
the  former  purpose  is  called  copal  varnish,  because 
one  of  the  principal  ingredients  in  it  is  a  kind  of  gum 
called  copal,  which  is  obtained  from  various  parts  of 
South  America.  This  kind  of  varnish  is  made  by 
melting  the  gum  with  an  equal  quantity  of  linseed-oil 
and  spirits  of  turpentine  or  alcohol. 

15.  To  give  the  work  a  complete  finish,  four  coats 


144 


THE  CABINE  T-M  AKER. 


of  varnish  are  successively  applied ;  in  addition  to 
these,  a  particular  kind  of  treatment  is  used  after  lay¬ 
ing  on  and  drying  each  coat.  After  the  application 
of  the  first  coat,  the  surface  is  rubbed  with  a  piece  of 
wood  of  convenient  form  ;  after  the  second,  with  sand¬ 
paper  and  pulverized  pumice-stone ;  after  the  third, 
with  pumice-stone  again ;  and  after  the  fourth,  with 
very  finely  powdered  pumice-stone  and  rotten-stone. 
A  little  linseed-oil  is  next  applied,  and  the  whole  pro¬ 
cess  is  finished  by  rubbing  the  surface  with  the  hand 
charged  with  flour. 

16.  Some  parts  of  several  pieces  of  furniture  are 
turned  in  the  lathe  ;  and,  in  large  cities,  this  part  of 
the  work  is  performed  by  professed  turners.  The 
veneering  of  certain  kinds  of  work  of  a  cylindrical 
form  is,  also,  in  some  cases,  a  distinct  business  ;  but, 
in  places  distant  from  large  cities,  the  whole  work  is 
commonly  performed  by  the  cabinet-maker  himself. 

17.  Mahogany  is  brought  to  market  in  logs  hewn 
to  a  square  form  ;  and  persons  who  deal  in  it,  com¬ 
monly  purchase  it  in  large  quantities,  and  cause  it  to 
be  sawn  into  pieces  of  suitable  dimensions  for  sale. 
Formerly,  and  in  some  cases  at  present,  slabs  were 
sawn  into  thin  pieces  for  veneering  by  hand  ;  but, 
within  a  few  years,  a  more  expeditious  method,  by  the 
circular  saw,  has  been  adopted.  In  performing  the 
operation  by  this  means,  the  slab  is  placed  upon  its 
edge,  and  shoved  along  against  the  teeth  of  the  rapid¬ 
ly-revolving  saw.  It  is  kept  in  the  proper  position 
by  holding  the  right  side  of  it  firmly  against  an  up¬ 
right  plank,  called  the  rest. 

18.  Mahogany  is  either  plain ,  mottled,  or  crotched ; 
nevertheless,  the  different  kinds  expressed  by  these 
terms  are  met  with  in  the  same  tree.  The  variega¬ 
ted  kinds  are  found  at  or  near  the  joining  of  the  limbs 
to  the  trunk ;  and  these  are  used  almost  exclusively 
for  veneering.  The  plain  sort  is  employed  for  more 


THE  UPHOLSTERER. 


145 


common  purposes,  and  in  those  parts  of  furniture  re¬ 
quired  to  be  less  splendid  in  appearance.  It  may  be 
well  to  remark,  also,  that  plain  mahogany  is  often  ve¬ 
neered,  as  well  as  the  softer  woods.  Black  walnut, 
white  oak,  rose,  and  several  other  woods,  are  likewise 
used  for  veneering,  although  not  so  much  as  mahog¬ 
any.  Our  native  woods  will  be  hereafter  more  used 
in  this  way,  since  mahogany  is  becoming  scarce. 

19.  In  Europe,  particularly  in  England,  the  busi¬ 
ness  of  the  cabinet-maker  is  commonly  united  with 
that  of  the  upholsterer  ;  and  this  is  sometimes  the 
case  in  the  United  States.  All,  however,  who  make 
sofas  and  chairs,  intrude  enough  upon  the  latter  bu¬ 
siness  to  cover  and  stuff  them  ;  or  they  employ  a 
journeyman  upholsterer  to  perform  this  part  of  the 

work.  c 

|1  >  -  /  ^  . 

I  t  ‘  4  -  ‘  '  "... 

THE  UPHOLSTERER. 

1.  The  upholsterer  makes  beds,  sacking-bottoms, 
mattresses,  cushions,  curtains  for  windows  and  beds, 
and  cuts  out,  sews  together,  and  fastens  down,  car¬ 
pets.  One  branch  of  his  business,  also,  consists  in 
covering  or  lining  and  stuffing  sofas,  and  particular 
kinds  of  chairs,  the  frames  of  which  are  made  by  cab¬ 
inet-makers  and  fancy  chair-makers. 

2.  Beds  are  stuffed  with  the  feathers  of  geese  and 
ducks.  The  sack  which  contains  them,  when  in  use, 
is  called  a  tick,  and  the  striped  stuff  of  which  it  is 
composed,  is  called  ticking .  The  feathers  used  by 
the  upholsterer,  are  purchased  from  the  feather-mer¬ 
chants,  who  in  turn  procure  them  from  country  mer¬ 
chants  and  pedlers.  The  dealer  in  feathers  also  em¬ 
ploys  travelling  agents  to  collect  them  in  different 
parts  of  the  country. 

3.  Beds  and  pillows  are  also  made  of  down  obtain¬ 
ed  from  the  nests  of  the  eider-duck,  which  is  found  in 
the  northern  parts  of  Europe  and  America,  above  lat- 

II.— N 


146 


fHE  UPHOLSTERER. 


itude  45°.  Eider-down  is  worth  about  two  dollars 
per  pound,  and  five  or  six  times  that  quantity  is  suffi¬ 
cient  for  a  bed  of  common  size. 

4.  Mattresses  are  made  of  curled  hair,  moss,  sha¬ 
vings  of  ratan,  flock,  straw,  corn-husks,  and  cat-tail 
flag.  The  hair  most  employed  for  this  purpose  grows 
upon  the  tails  of  cattle,  and  upon  the  manes  and  tails 
of  horses.  It  is  purchased,  in  its  natural  state,  from 
tanners,  by  persons  who  make  it  a  business  to  pre¬ 
pare  it  for  use.  The  last  process  of  the  preparation 
consists  in  twisting  it  into  a  kind  of  rope.  These 
ropes  are  picked  to  pieces  by  the  upholsterer,  and  the 
hair,  in  its  curled  and  elastic  state,  is  applied  to  stuf¬ 
fing  mattresses,  cushions,  chairs,  and  sofas. 

5.  Moss  is  obtained  from  the  Southern  states  of  our 
Union,  where  it  is  found  in  great  abundance,  and  of  a 
good  quality.  Flock  is  made  by  reducing  to  a  de¬ 
gree  of  fineness,  by  machinery,  coarse  tags  of  wool, 
pieces  of  woollen  cloth,  old  stockings,  and  other  wool¬ 
len  offals  of  little  or  no  value  in  any  other  application. 
Of  all  the  materials  for  stuffing  upholstery,  hair  is 
much  the  best,  and,  although  it  costs  more  in  its  ori¬ 
ginal  purchase,  it  is  much  cheaper  in  the  end. 

6.  In  making  and  putting  up  window  and  bed  cur¬ 
tains,  considerable  taste  is  required  to  insure  success. 
A  knowledge  of  drawing  is  particularly  useful  here, 
in  improving  the  taste,  as  well  as  in  exhibiting  to 
customers  the  prevailing  fashions,  or  any  changes 
which  may  be  proposed.  The  trimmings  consist  chief¬ 
ly  of  tassels,  fringes,  and  gilded  or  brass  fixtures. 

7.  We  have  not  space  for  a  particular  description 
of  the  manner  in  which  any  of  the  operations  of  the 
upholsterer  are  performed  ;  nor  is  this  necessary, 
since  the  work  itself,  in  almost  every  specimen  of  it, 
affords  obvious  indications  of  the  manner  of  its  exe¬ 
cution.  We  will  merely  remark,  that  a  great  propor¬ 
tion  of  it  is  performed  by  females. 


THE  UPHOLSTERER. 


147 


8.  In  the  first  ages  of  the  world,  it  was  the  univer¬ 
sal  practice  to  sleep  upon  the  skins  of  beasts,  and  this 
is  still  the  custom  among  the  savage  nations  of  the 
present*  day.  The  Greeks  and  the  Romans,  in  the 
early  part  of  their  history,  slept  in  this  manner,  and 
so  did  the  common  people  of  some  parts  of  Germany, 
even  until  modern  times. 

9.  The  first  advancement  from  the  use  of  skins 
was  the  substitution  of  rushes,  heath,  or  straw,  which 
was  primarily  strewed  loosely  on  the  ground  or  floor, 
and  finally  confined  with  ticking;  and  these  and  sim¬ 
ilar  materials  are  still  used  by  the  poor  in  various 
parts  of  the  world.  So  late  as  the  close  of  the  thir¬ 
teenth  century,  the  royal  family  of  England  slept  on 
beds  made  of  straw. 

10.  During  the  civilized  periods  of  antiquity,  the 
wealthy  commonly  filled  their  beds  with  feathers. 
After  the  Romans  had  become  luxurious,  they  used 
several  kinds  of  beds,  among  which  were  the  lectus 
cubicularis,  or  chamber  bed,  whereon  they  slept ;  the 
lectus  discubitorius ,  or  table  bed,  whereon  they  ate  ; 
and  the  lectus  lucubratorius,  on  which  they  studied. 

11.  The  Romans  adopted  the  Eastern  fashion  of 
reclining  at  their  meals,  at  the  close  of  the  second  Pu¬ 
nic  war,  about  200  years  before  Christ,  when  Scipio 
Africanus  brought  some  little  beds  from  Carthage, 
which  were  thence  called  Punicani.  These  beds 
were  low,  made  of  wood,  covered  with  leather,  and 
stuffed  with  hay  or  straw.  Before  this  time,  they  sat 
down  to  eat  on  plain  wooden  benches,  in  imitation  of 
the  heroes  of  Homer,  or  after  the  manner  of  the  Cre¬ 
tans  and  Lacedaemonians. 

12.  From  the  greatest  simplicity,  the  Romans  at 
length  carried  their  supping  beds  to  the  most  surpri¬ 
sing  magnificence.  The  bedsteads  were  sometimes 
made  of  gold  or  silver,  and  very  commonly  of  wood, 
adorned  with  plates  of  these  metals  or  with  tortoise 


148 


THE  UPHOLSTERER. 


shell.  On  the  couch  was  laid  a  mattress  or  quilt, 
stuffed  with  feathers  or  wool. 

13.  Three  persons  commonly  occupied  one  couch. 
They  lay  with  the  upper  part  of  the  body  reclined  on 
the  left  arm,  the  head  a  little  raised,  the  back  support¬ 
ed  by  cushions,  and  the  limbs  stretched  out  at  full 
length  or  a  little  bent.  The  feet  of  the  first  were 
placed  behind  the  back  of  the  second,  and  his  feet 
behind  the  back  of  the  third.  Reclining  at  meals  was 
customary  in  Asia,  in  the  time  of  our  Savior,  as  is 
clearly  shown  in  John,  xiii.,  23  and  25,  and  this  ren¬ 
dered  it  convenient  for  Mary  to  anoint  the  feet  of 
Jesus,  while  at  the  table. 

14.  The  Romans,  during  the  republic,  made  their 
tables  of  a  square  form,  and  on  three  sides  of  it  was 
placed  a  couch ;  but,  under  the  emperors,  a  long  couch 
of  a  semicircular  form  having  been  introduced,  the  ta¬ 
ble  was  made  of  a  similar  shape  to  conform  to  it.  In 
either  case,  one  side  was  left  empty,  to  admit  of  the 
approach  of  the  servants. 

15.  We  have  no  certain  evidence  that  carpets  were 
known  in  the  civilized  periods  of  antiquity.  They 
appear  to  have  originated  in  Persia,  at  a  time  compar¬ 
atively  modern,  and  to  have  spread  in  a  gradual  man¬ 
ner  towards  the  West.  They  were  unknown  in  Eng¬ 
land  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth;  for  it  was  then  the 
fashion  to  strew  the  floor  with  hay  and  rushes.  Even 
the  presence-chamber  of  this  princess  was  covered  in 
this  manner.  The  manufacture  of  carpets  was  not 
commenced  in  England,  until  the  year  1750.  They 
are  now  extensively  manufactured  in  the  United 
States. 


THE  CHAIR-MAKER. 


1.  The  chair  was  invented  at  so  early  a  period, 
that  its  origin  cannot  now  be  ascertained.  It  was 
used  by  all  the  civilized  nations  of  antiquity;  and 
some  of  their  patterns  for  this  species  of  furniture 
have  been  revived,  with  some  modifications,  in  mod¬ 
ern  times ;  for  example,  a  stool  for  sitting  at  the 
piano,  now  called  the  X,  is  the  lower  part  of  a  chair 
used  in  the  Roman  empire  near  two  thousand  years 
ago.  The  seat  and  back  were  stuffed  with  some  soft 
elastic  substance. 

2.  The  seats  used  by  the  barbarous  conquerors  of 
the  Roman  empire,  hardly  deserve  the  name  of  chairs, 
as  they  commonly  consisted  of  little  or  nothing  more 
than  a  stool  with  three  or  four  legs.  Even  the  great 
Alfred,  who  swayed  the  sceptre  of  England  in  the 

N  2 


150 


THE  C  H  A  I  R-M  AKER. 


latter  part  of  the  ninth  century,  possessed  nothing  ap¬ 
proaching  nearer  to  a  chair  than  a  three-legged  stool 
made  of  oak  timber.  This  species  of  seat  was  at 
length  improved  into  a  chair  by  the  addition  of  anoth¬ 
er  leg  and  a  back. 

3.  The  next  step  in  the  art  of  chair-making  was 
to  cover  the  seats  with  cloth,  and  to  stuff  them  with 
some  kind  of  wadding.  The  material  of  which  the 
frames  were  made  was  oak ;  and  for  a  long  period, 
they  were  exceedingly  heavy  and  inconvenient.  The 
armed-chair  is  said  to  have  been  contrived  by  an  aider- 
man  of  Cripplegate.  Such  chairs,  however,  were  in 
use  among  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans. 

4.  Our  old-fashioned  chair,  with  four  upright  posts, 
several  horizontal  rounds  and  slats,  together  with 
wooden  splints  or  flags  for  the  bottom,  is  compara¬ 
tively  modern,  although  it  is  impossible  to  state  the 
period  of  its  introduction.  Very  few  of  any  other 
kind  were  used  in  the  United  States,  until  near  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century. 

5.  The  Windsor  chair  seems  to  have  been  first 
used  for  a  rural  seat  in  the  grounds  about  Windsor 
castle,  England  ;  whence  its  name.  It  was  originally 
constructed  of  round  wood,  with  the  bark  on  ;  but  the 
chair-makers  soon  began  to  make  them  of  turned  wood, 
for  the  common  purposes  of  house-keeping.  We  can¬ 
not  learn  that  any  were  made  in  this  country  before 
the  close  of  the  revolution,  in  1783. 

6.  A  great  proportion  of  the  chair-maker’s  stuff  is 
brought  to  the  proper  form  by  means  of  the  lathe ; 
and  this  machine  is  used  for  this  purpose  in  every 
practicable  case  ;  but  this  part  of  the  work  is  not  per¬ 
formed  in  the  cities,  since  it  is  found  to  be  less  expen¬ 
sive  and  more  convenient,  to  purchase  the  timber  turn¬ 
ed  in  the  country.  Slats  for  the  back,  bent  to  the 
proper  shape,  are  also  obtained  from  the  same  source. 

7.  The  Windsor  chair  is  varied  in  its  construction 


THE  CHAIR-MAKER. 


151 


and  finish,  in  some  particulars  ;  but,  in  all  cases,  it  has 
a  seat  made  of  thick  plank  of  cypress,  bass,  or  some 
other  soft  wood.  The  slats,  when  employed,  are  also 
made  of  the  same  wood,  or  of  soft  maple.  The  parts 
which  are  turned,  are  commonly  of  the  wood  last 
mentioned. 

8.  In  constructing  chairs  from  these  materials,  the 
workman  undertakes  several  at  a  time,  say  from  one 
to  two  or  three  dozens.  We  may  suppose,  as  is  fre¬ 
quently  the  case,  that  he  first  cuts  up  a  quantity  of 
planks  to  the  proper  size  for  the  seats,  and  reduces 
them  to  the  proposed  form  and  smoothness  by  means 
of  the  drawing-knife,  adze,  spoke-shaves,  and  sand¬ 
paper.  He  next  cuts  the  various  pieces  which  are 
to  compose  the  frame,  to  the  proper  length,  turns  the 
ends  of  those  which  need  it,  to  make  the  joint,  and 
bores  the  requisite  holes  with  a  bit.  In  putting  the 
parts.together,  the  joints  are  made  to  fit  very  closely, 
and  their  union  is  rendered  permanent  by  means  ot 
glue. 

9.  The  chairs  are  next  covered  with  three  coats  of 
paint,  and  with  two  coats  of  copal  or  some  other  kind 
of  varnish  ;  and  this,  for  plain  work,  completes  the 
whole  process  of  the  manufacture.  But,  when  they 
are  to  be  ornamented,  gold  or  copper  leaf  or  bronze 
is  put  on  before  the  application  of  the  last  coat  of  var¬ 
nish.  The  bronze  used  by  painters,  is  finely  pulver¬ 
ized  copper,  tin,  or  zinc. 

10.  The  ornamenter  uses  paper  patterns,  which  he 
applies  to  the  surface  to  be  ornamented,  to  guide  him 
in  the  execution  of  his  work.  The  powder  is  laid  on 
with  a  camel’s-hair  brush,  or  with  a  piece  of  raw  cot¬ 
ton.  Light  and  shade  are  produced  by  a  proper  dis¬ 
tribution  of  the  powder,  or  by  paint  of  a  dark  colour. 
The  bronze  is  made  to  adhere  by  means  of  size,  which 
has  been  previously  laid  on. 

11.  Several  other  kinds  of  chairs  are,  also,  made 


152 


THE  C  H  A  I  R-M  AKER. 

by  the  common  chair-maker;  and  the  frames,  or 
some  parts  of  them,  are  sawn  out  of  planks  with  a 
narrow-bladed  saw,  which  can  be  easily  guided  upon 
the  line  of  any  pattern.  The  principal  parts  of  the 
frame  are  commonly  put  together  with  the  mortice  and 
tenon  ;  and  the  bottoms  are  composed  of  cane,  flags, 
or  a  peculiar  kind  of  rush.  The  cane  is  likewise  used 
in  the  backs  of  chairs,  especially  in  those  having  rock¬ 
ers. 

12.  The  manufacture  of  mahogany  chairs  with 
stuffed  seats,  sometimes  constitutes  a  distinct  branch 
of  business ;  at  other  times,  it  is  connected  with  that 
of  making  sofas ;  and  again,  with  cabinet-making  in 
general.  It  is  generally  supposed,  that  rockers  were 
first  applied  to  chairs  in  this  country,  but  at  what  time 
or  by  whom,  it  cannot  be  determined 


J 


THE  CARVER,  AND  THE  GILDER. 


THE  CARVER. 

1.  Carving,  in  its  widest  sense,  is  the  art  of  forming 
figures  in  various  hard  substances  by  means  of  some 
cutting  instruments,  such  as  a  chisel  or  graver ;  but, 
in  the  restricted  sense  in  which  the  term  is  generally 
applied,  it  has  reference  to  the  production  of  figures 
in  wood. 

2.  Carving  in  wood,  in  all  countries  where  it  has 
been  practised,  has  ever  preceded  sculpture,  or  carving 
in  stone.  It  is,  therefore,  an  art  of  the  highest  anti¬ 
quity  ;  and,  although  the  same  with  sculpture  in  some 
of  its  applications,  yet  it  differs  from  it  somewhat  in 
the  mode  of  execution,  according  with  the  nature  of 
the  material. 

3.  The  art  of  carving  is  very  extensive  in  its  appli- 


154 


THE  CARVER. 


cation,  being  used  in  the  decorative  parts  of  architec¬ 
ture,  both  civil  and  naval,  and  likewise  in  ornamenting 
cabinet- ware,  as  well  as  in  forming  patterns  for  cast¬ 
ing  in  metals,  particularly  in  iron  and  brass.  The 
Gothic  style  of  architecture  is  peculiarly  rich  in  car¬ 
ved  work ;  and  the  productions  of  some  ages  are  more 
so  than  those  of  others. 

4.  The  style  of  Louis  the  Fourteenth,  of  France, 
so  called  because  practised  in  his  reign,  was  more 
overloaded  with  ornament  than  any  other.  A  lighter 
and  more  beautiful  style  succeeded,  which  is  still  em¬ 
ployed  for  some  purposes ;  but  generally  the  chaste 
and  simple  line  of  Grecian  ornament  now  prevails. 

5.  In  executing  any  proposed  work,  a  drawing  is 
first  made  on  paper,  commonly  with  a  lead-pencil. 
The  part  of  the  paper  not  embraced  in  the  outline  is 
then  cut  away,  and  the  remaining  portion  is  laid  upon 
the  surface  of  the  wood.  The  outlines  are  next  drawn 
on  the  wood,  by  moving  the  pencil  around  those  on  the 
paper.  The  design  having  been  thus  transferred,  the 
superfluous  portions  of  the  wood  are  cut  away  with 
carving  tools,  of  which  there  is  a  considerable  variety 
of  both  size  and  form.  The  tools  are  driven  with  a 
mallet  or  with  the  palm  of  the  hand,  but  in  most  cases 
with  the  latter. 

6.  A  capacity  for  designing,  and  a  knowledge  of 
drawing  and  modelling,  are  particularly  necessary  to 
make  a  finished  carver.  Without  these  qualifications, 
at  least  in  some  degree,  one  may  be  a  mechanic,  but 
not  an  artist.  The  subject  most  difficult  of  execu¬ 
tion,  is  the  human-  figure,  and  in  producing  it  with  ac¬ 
curacy,  the  same  qualifications  in  the  artist  are  re¬ 
quired,  and  the  same  general  process  is  pursued,  as  in 
producing  it  in  marble. 


THE  GILDER. 


155 


THE  GILDER. 

1.  Carving  and  gilding  are,  in  most  cases,  osten¬ 
sibly  united  as  one  business,  although  in  fact  they  are 
branches  of  manufacture  totally  distinct.  The  gilder, 
therefore,  who  writes  over  his  door,  “Carver  and 
Gilder,”  seldom  has  any  practical  knowledge  of  car¬ 
ving.  For  every  thing  in  this  line  of  work,  he  is  de¬ 
pendent  on  the  carver,  who  commonlj  pursues  his 
business  in  a  private  way. 

2.  The  operation  of  gilding,  as  performed  by  those 
whose  business  is  now  under  consideration,  is  execu¬ 
ted  chiefly  on  wood.  It  is  employed  most  frequently 
for  picture  and  looking-glass  frames,  and  for  uphol¬ 
stery  fixtures.  It  is  a  mechanical  process,  and  con¬ 
sists  in  applying  gold-leaf  to  surfaces,  in  such  a  man¬ 
ner  as  to  adhere  with  tenacity. 

3.  Before  the  application  of  the  metal,  a  tedious 
process  muse  be  performed,  by  way  of  preparation. 
The  surface  to  be  gilded  is  successively  covered  with 
from  five  to  seven  coats  of  glutinous  size,  made  by 
boiling  scraps  of  parchment  in  water,  with  the  addi¬ 
tion  of  a  little  whiting.  The  average  thickness  of 
the  coat  thus  produced,  is  about  one-sixteenth  of  an 
inch. 

4.  The  surface  is  next  rubbed  with  freestone  and 
pumice  stone,  of  a  shape  corresponding  with  the  pat¬ 
tern  of  the  frame,  while  a  small  quantity  of  water  is 
occasionally  applied,  to  increase  their  effects.  After 
this,  the  sizing  is  rendered  still  smoother,  by  friction 
with  sand-paper.  This  surface  is  then  covered  with 
three  coats  of  burnished  gold  size,  which  is  composed 
of  English  pipe  clay,  venison  suet,  and  French  bole, 
or  red  chalk,  mixed  in  a  suitable  quantity  of  weak 
parchment  size.  The  preparation  is  completed  by 
rubbing  the  surface  with  worn  sand-paper,  by  washing 
it  in  water  with  a  sponge,  and  by  rubbing  it  with  a 
piece  of  cloth. 


156 


THE  GILDER. 


5.  The  leaf  is  laid  on  with  a  broad,  but  thin  brush, 
called  a  tip.  Before  the  gold  is  applied,  however,  the 
surface  is  well  wet  with  alcohol  and  water.  When 
dry,  the  parts  designed  to  be  bright,  are  burnished 
with  a  polished  agate  or  flint.  In  the  best  kind  of 
work,  a  second  coat  of  the  leaf  is  required.  In  gild¬ 
ing  irregular  surfaces,  such  as  the  ornaments  at  the 
corners  of  frames,  a  size  made  of  linseed-oil,  white 
lead,  yellow  ochre,  and  japan,  is  laid  on  a  few  hours 
before  the  application  of  the  leaf.  This  is  called  gild¬ 
ing  in  oil. 

6.  The  ornaments  on  the  frames  are  cast  in  moulds, 
and  are  made  of  a  composition  of  glue,  whiting,  rosin, 
turpentine,  and  Burgundy  pitch.  The  moulds  are  ta¬ 
ken  from  patterns,  originally  executed  by  the  carver. 


'  ■ 

v">  *&■  ‘ 


/ 


THE  COOPER. 


1.  The  cooper  manufactures  casks,  tubs,  pails,  and 
various  other  articles  for  domestic  use,  as  well  as 
vessels  for  containing  all  kinds  of  liquids  and  mer¬ 
chandise  of  a  dry  nature.  He  also  applies  hoops  to 
boxes  which  are  to  be  transported,  with  their  valuable 
contents,  to  a  distance  from  the  cities. 

2.  The  productions  of  this  art  being  of  prime  ne¬ 
cessity,  the  trade  must  have  been  exercised  at  a  very 
early  period.  Roman  writers  on  rural  economy  speak 
of  the  existence  of  its  productions  more  than  two 
thousand  years  ago ;  nevertheless  they  are  still  un¬ 
known  in  some  countries,  and  there  the  inhabitants 
keep  or  carry  liquids  in  skins  daubed  over  with  pitch. 

3.  Bottles  of  this  kind  were  used,  more  or  less,  in 
all  parts  of  the  Roman  empire,  in  the  days  of  our  Sa¬ 
vior  ;  and  to  such  he  alluded,  when  speaking  of  put- 

II.— O 


158 


THE  COOPER. 


ting  new  wine  into  old  bottles.  Earthen  vessels  of 
various  dimensions,  were  also  in  extensive  use  at  the 
same  time.  The  custom  of  keeping  wine  in  such 
vessels,  is  still  common  in  the  southern  parts  of  Eu¬ 
rope.  Pliny  accords  to  the  Piedmontese  the  merit  of 
introducing  casks.  In  his  time,  they  were  daubed 
with  pitch. 

4.  Cedar  and  oak  are  the  woods  chiefly  employed 
as  materials  in  this  business ;  and  the  persons  who 
carry  it  on,  as  well  as  journeymen,  confine  their  at¬ 
tention  to  the  production  of  wares  from  one  or  the 
other  of  these  woods  ;  hence  the  division  of  the  work¬ 
men  into  cedar  coopers  and  oak  coopers. 

5.  It  is  not  always  the  case,  however,  that  every 
cooper  executes  all  kinds  of  work  belonging  to  either 
one  of  these  divisions  of  the  trade  ;  but  this  is  not  be¬ 
cause  there  is  any  peculiar  difficulty  attending  any 
part  of  the  business,  but  because  some  particular  kind 
of  coopering  is  required  in  preference  to  others  ;  for 
example,  in  some  places,  flour  barrels  are  the  casks 
most  needed  ;  in  others,  those  for  sugar,  tobacco, 
pearlash,  or  some  kind  of  spirits. 

6.  In  illustrating  the  general  operations  of  this  bu¬ 
siness,  we  will  describe  the  process  of  making  a  tub. 
The  timber  is  first  cut  to  the  proper  length  with  the 
kind  of  saw  used  in  the  cities  for  cutting  fire-wood. 
It  is  next  split  into  pieces  with  a  frow,  the  curvature 
of  which  corresponds,  at  least  with  some  degree  of 
exactness,  to  that  of  the  proposed  vessel.  The  sev 
eral  pieces  are  then  shaved  on  the  edges  with  a 
straight  drawing-knife,  on  the  inside  with  one  of  a 
concave  form,  and  on  the  outside  with  one  of  corre¬ 
sponding  convexity. 

7.  After  this,  they  are  jointed  on  a  long  plane, 
which  is  placed  with  its  face  upwards,  in  an  inclined 
position.  The  workman  is  guided  in  giving  the  prop¬ 
er  angle  to  the  surface  cut  with  the  plane,  by  a  wood- 


THE  COOPER. 


159 


en  gauge  of  peculiar  form.  The  staves,  having  been 
thus  prepared,  are  set  up  in  a  truss-hoop ;  and  after 
this  has  been  driven  down,  one  or  two  others  which 
are  to  remain  are  put  on.  The  outside  is  then  made 
smooth  with  a  onvex  drawing-knife,  and  the  inside 
with  a  smoothing-plane,  the  edge  of  which  is  circular, 
to  correspond  with  the  form  of  the  surface.  The  in¬ 
side  of  small  wooden  vessels  is  generally  made  smooth 
with  a  crooked  drawing-knife. 

8.  The  staves  are  now  sawn  off  to  a  uniform  length 
at  the  bottom,  and  a  groove  is  cut  for  the  insertion  of 
the  bottom.  The  latter  operation  is  performed  by 
means  of  a  cutting  instrument  fixed  in  a  kind  of 
gauge.  The  several  pieces  to  compose  the  bottom 
are  brought  to  the  proper  form  and  smoothness  with 
a  straight  drawing-knife  ;  and,  having  been  slightly 
fastened  together  by  wooden  pins,  the  whole,  as  one 
piece,  is  inserted  in  its  proper  place  by  driving  it 
down  from  the  top  on  the  inside.  The  whole  process 
is  finished  by  driving  on  the  hoops,  and  making  the 
holes  in  the  handles'. 

9.  The  cedar  employed  in  this  business  is  a  con¬ 
siderable  tree,  which  grows  in  various  parts  of  the 
world,  but  especially  in  the  United  States,  where  it 
occupies  large  tracts  called  cedar  or  cypress  swamps. 
The  wood  is  soft,  smooth,  and  of  an  aromatic  smell. 
It  is  likewise  much  used  for  shingles.  The  Dismal 
Swamp,  lying  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  con¬ 
tains  an  abundance  of  this  kind  of  timber. 

10.  The  operations  in  oak  vary  from  those  in  cedar 
so  far  us  to  conform  to  the  nature  of  the  material,  and 
the  form  of  the  vessels  manufactured.  In  bringing 
the  staves  to  the  proper  form,  the  workman  is  guided 
altogether  by  the  eye  ;  and,  if  they  must  be  bent,  they 
require  to  be  heated.  The  fire  for  this  purpose  is 
made  of  shavings  and  chips  in  a  small  furnace  of 
sheet  iron,  called  a  crusset .  The  hoops,  both  for  ce- 


160 


THE  COOPER. 


dar  and  oak  wares,  are  made  of  thin  strips  of  iron,  or 
of  small  oak,  hickory,  ash,  or  cedar  saplings.  With¬ 
in  a  few  years,  several  machines  have  been  invented, 
for  getting  out  staves,  and  for  bringing  them  to  the 
proper  form,  as  well  as  for  performing  several  other 
parts  of  the  cooper’s  operations. 

11.  The  coopers  in  England  derive  a  great  deal 
of  their  employment  from  the  West  India  trade. 
Barrels,  puncheons,  and  hogsheads,  are  carried  out 
of  the  country  filled  with  dry  goods,  and  are  returned 
•filled  with  rum  and  sugar.  In  the  United  States, 
*  much  work  of  this  kind  is  done  for  the  same  market ; 
but  then  the  staves  and  heads  are  only  fitted  and 
marked  here,  to  be  afterwards  put  together  in  the 
West  Indies. 


v 


\ 


THE  WHEELWRIGHT. 


1.  The  artisan  who  makes  the  wood- work  of  com¬ 
mon  wheel  carriages,  or  the  wheels  of  coaches,  is  de¬ 
nominated  a  wheelwright ;  but,  under  this  head,  we 
propose  to  include  whatever  we  may  say  on  con¬ 
structing  and  finishing  wheel  carriages  in  general. 

2.  It  must  be  evident,  even  to  a  superficial  observ¬ 
er,  that  this  business,  in  its  different  branches,  occu¬ 
pies  a  large  space  in  our  domestic  industry,  since 
almost  every  farmer  in  the  country  owns  a  vehicle  of 
some  sort,  and  since  the  streets  of  our  busy  cities  and 
towns  exhibit,  during  a  great  part  of  the  day,  scenes 
of  bustle  occasioned,  in  a  great  measure,  by  the  pass¬ 
ing  and  repassing  of  carriages  of  different  kinds. 

3.  The  principal  kinds  of  wheel  carriages  made 
in  this  country,  are  the  cart,  the  wagon,  the  gig,  and 

O  2 


162 


THE  WHEELWRIGHT. 


the  coach ;  and  of  each  of  these  there  are  various 
sorts,  differing  in  strength  and  mode  of  construction, 
to  suit  the  particular  purposes  to  which  they  are  to 
be  applied.  The  business  of  making  these  vehicles 
is  divided  into  a  number  of  branches  ;  but,  as  the  man¬ 
ufacture  of  the  coach  embraces  a  greater  variety  of 
operations  than  any  other  species  of  carriage,  we 
have  selected  it  as  affording  the  best  means  of  explain¬ 
ing  the  operations  of  the  whole  business. 

4.  In  large  establishments  for  making  coaches  and 
other  vehicles  of  the  best  workmanship,  the  opera¬ 
tors  confine  their  attention  to  the  execution  of  partic. 
ular  parts  of  the  work  ;  for  example,  one  man  makes 
the  wheels,  another  the  carriage  and  body,  another 
fashions  and  applies  the  iron,  another  does  the  paint¬ 
ing  and  polishing,  and  another  the  trimming.  In 
smaller  establishments,  a  greater  proportion  of  the 
work  is  executed  by  one  person. 

5.  The  wheels  of  the  coach,  as  well  as  those  of 
every  other  vehicle  in  which  they  are  used,  are  com¬ 
posed  of  a  hub ,  and  several  spokes ,  and  felloes.  The 
hubs  are  commonly  made  of  a  kind  of  tough  wood, 
called  gum,  which  is  reduced  to  the  desired  form  in 
the  lathe.  The  hole  through  the  centre  is  made  with 
a  common  auger,  and  enlarged  with  one  tapering  to¬ 
wards  the  point,  and  having  through  its  whole  length 
two  cutting  edges.  The  mortices  for  the  spokes  are 
made  with  a  chisel  driven  with  a  mallet. 

6.  The  spokes  are  made  of  white  oak,  and  the  fel¬ 
loes,  of  ash  or  hickory  ;  and  both  are  brought  to  the 
required  form  and  smoothness  with  the  saw,  axe, 
drawing-knife,  spoke-shave,  chisel,  and  sand-paper. 
The  constituent  parts  of  the  carriage ,  or  running 
gears,  are  the  axles,  perch,  and  spring -beds,  or  bolsters , 
to  which  are  added  the  tongue,  or  pole,  and  some  other 
parts  connected  with  it. 

7.  The  joints  in  this  part  of  the  vehicle  are  ma'de 


THE  WHEELWRIGHT. 


163 


perfectly  tight  by  the  application  of  putty ;  whereas, 
in  the  body,  glue  is  used  for  this  purpose.  The  lat¬ 
ter  substance  will  not  answer  in  the  former  case,  since 
it  cannot  bear  exposure  to  water.  The  wood  gener¬ 
ally  employed  for  the  carriage  part,  as  well  as  for  the 
frame  of  the  body,  is  ash ;  and  the  several  parts  are 
sawn  from  planks  of  suitable  thickness.  In  this  part 
of  the  work,  the  operator  is  guided  by  patterns  made 
of  thin  pine  boards.  The  panels  of  the  body  are 
made  of  thin  boards  of  poplar  or  bass-wood.  The 
manner  in  which  the  several  parts  are  dressed  and 
put  together  is  too  obvious  to  need  description. 

8.  The  wheels  and  the  carriage,  after  having  re¬ 
ceived  one  coat  of  paint,  are  sent  to  the  blacksmith 
to  be  ironed.  The  hub  is  bound,  at  each  end-  with 
hoops  of  iron,  commonly  plated  with  brass  or  silver, 
and  the  outside  rim  or  felloes  are  bound  with  an  iron 
tire ,  and  fastened  with  strong  nails  or  spikes.  The 
tires  are  made  red-hot  before  they  are  applied,  that 
they  may  be  made  to  fit  in  every  part  with  accuracy. 

9.  Bands,  bolts,  or  strips  of  iron,  are  applied  to 
those  parts  of  the  wood-work  which  may  be  exposed 
to  friction,  or  which  require  additional  strength.  The 
axles  are  also  made  of  wrought  iron,  either  by  the 
blacksmith  who  executes  the  other  iron  work,  or  by 
persons  who  manufacture  them  by  the  quantity  for 
sale.  The  same  remark  is  applicable  to  the  thorough- 
boxes,  which  are  inserted  into  the  hub  to  prevent  in¬ 
jury  by  friction,  and  to  cause  the  wheel  to  revolve 
with  freedom  and  accuracy. 

10.  The  painting,  varnishing,  and  polishing,  of  the 
body  of  the  coach,  when  done  in  the  best  manner, 
comprise  a  tedious  process.  It  is  first  covered  with 
a  coat  of  paint ;  the  grain  of  the  wood  is  then  filled 
up  with  putty,  and  the  surface  is  again  covered  with 
paint.  Five  coats  of  filling ,  composed  of  ochre,  japan 
varnish,  and  spirits  of  turpentine,  are  next  success- 


164 


THE  WHEELWRIGHT. 


ively  applied.  After  the  surface  has  been  rubbed 
with  a  solid  piece  of  pumice-stone,  it  is  again  painted, 
and  rubbed  with  sand-paper.  Several  coats  of  paint 
are  next  laid  on,  and  the  work  is  finished  by  the  ap¬ 
plication  of  a  few  coats  of  copal-varnish,  and  by  the 
use  of  pumice-stone.  The  painting  and  varnishing  of 
the  wheels  and  carriage  part,  is  far  less  expensive  and 
tedious. 

11.  The  nature  of  the  trimmings,  and  the  manner 
in  which  they  are  put  together  and  applied,  need  not 
be  described,  since  a  few  moments’  inspection  of  a 
finished  vehicle  of  this  kind,  will  give  any  one  a  clear 
conception  of  the  whole  of  this  branch  of  the  business. 
So  far  as  trimming  the  inside,  and  the  manufacture  of 
cushions  are  concerned,  the  operations  are  similar  to 
those  of  the  upholsterer. 

12.  Wheel  carriages  may  be  classed  among  the 
primitive  inventions,  although  the  first  authentic  no¬ 
tice  we  have  of  their  use,  we  find  in  the  scripture  his¬ 
tory  of  Joseph,  the  son  of  Jacob,  in  which  it  is  rela¬ 
ted,  that  this  great  and  good  man  “  was  made  to  ride 
in  the  second  chariot”  of  the  king’s,  and  that  he  sent 
wagons  from  Egypt  to  convey  thither  his  father  and 
family  from  the  land  of  Canaan. 

13.  Covered  wagons  were  used  in  the  days  of  Mo¬ 
ses  ;  and  the  wandering  Scythians,  in  the  time  of  the 
Romans,  had  them  covered  with  leather.  The  seat 
for  the  driver  is  said  to  have  been  invented  by  Oxylus, 
an  iEtolian,  who  took  possession  of  the  kingdom  of 
Elis,  about  1100  years  before  Christ.  Many  of  the 
nations  of  antiquity  used  chariots  in  the  field  of  bat¬ 
tle,  and  the  axles  were  sometimes  armed  with  scythes 
or  some  other  sharp  cutting  instruments.  Two  per¬ 
sons  commonly  occupied  one  vehicle,  one  of  whom 
drove  the  horses,  and  the  other  fought  the  enemy. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  promised  land  fought  in  char¬ 
iots,  even  before  the  settlement  of  the  people  of  Is- 


THE  WHEELWRIGHT. 


165 


rael  in  that  country ;  and  the  Greeks  likewise  em¬ 
ployed  them,  for  warlike  purposes,  at  the  siege  of 
Troy. 

14.  The  carriages  used  by  the  Romans  were  of  va¬ 
rious  kinds,  some  of  which  were  carried  on  the  shoul¬ 
ders  of  men,  and  others,  having  two  or  four  wheels, 
were  drawn  by  horses,  asses,  mules,  or  oxen.  Nev¬ 
ertheless,  neither  they,  nor  any  other  nation  of  anti¬ 
quity,  ever  suspended  the  body  of  any  carriage  on 
Leathers,  or  supported  it  on  springs ;  and  the  use  of 
almost  every  species  of  vehicle  for  the  conveyance  of 
persons,  was  banished  by  the  policy  of  the  barbarous 
nations  that  afterwards  became  masters  of  civilized 
Europe,  the  feudal  lords  conceiving  it  important,  that 
their  military  vassals  should  serve  them  on  horseback. 

15.  Even  as  late  as  the  sixteenth  century,  minis¬ 
ters  rode  to  court,  and  magistrates  of  imperial  cities 
to  council,  on  the  back  of  this  animal ;  and,  in  the 
same  manner,  kings  and  lords  made  their  public  entry 
on  the  most  solemn  occasions.  In  accounts  of  papal 
ceremonies  which  occurred  during  several  centuries, 
we  find  no  mention  of  a  state-coach ;  but,  instead  of 
it,  state-horses  or  state-mules.  The  horse  for  his  ho¬ 
liness  was  required  to  be  a  gentle  and  tractable  nag, 
of  a  gray  color ;  and  a  stool  with  three  steps  was  ne¬ 
cessary  to  aid  him  in  mounting.  The  emperor  or 
kings,  if  present,  held  his  stirrup,  and  led  his  beast. 
Bishops  also  made  their  public  entrance  on  horses  or 
asses  richly  decorated. 

16.  Covered  carriages,  however,  were  known  in 
the  principal  states  of  Europe  in  the  fifteenth  and  six¬ 
teenth  centuries  ;  but  they  were  at  first  used  only  by 
women  of  rank,  since  the  men  thought  it  disgraceful 
to  ride  in  them.  At  this  period,  when  the  electors  of 
the  German  empire  did  not  choose  to  be  present  at 
the  meetings  of  the  states,  they  excused  themselves  to 
the  emperor  by  stating  that  their  health  would  not 


166 


THE  WHEELWRIGHT. 


permit  them  to  ride  on  horseback,  and  it  was  not  be¬ 
coming  for  them  to  ride  like  women. 

17.  But,  for  a  long  time,  the  use  of  carriages  was 
forbidden  even  to  women  ;  and,  as  late  as  the  year 
1545,  the  wife  of  a  certain  duke  obtained  from  him, 
with  great  difficulty,  the  privilege  of  using  a  covered 
carriage  in  a  journey  to  the  baths.  The  permission 
was  granted  on  the  condition  that  her  attendants 
should  not  enjoy  the  same  favor.  Nevertheless,  it  is 
certain  that  emperors,  kings,  and  princes,  began  to 
employ  covered  carriages  on  journeys,  in  the  fifteenth 
century ;  and  a  few  instances  occur  of  their  use  in 
public  solemnities.  Ambassadors  appeared,  for  the 
first  time,  in  coaches,  at  a  public  solemnity,  in  1613, 
at  Erfurth. 

18.  In  the  history  of  France,  we  find  many  proofs, 
that,  in  the  fourteenth,  fifteenth,  and  sixteenth  centu¬ 
ries,  the  French  monarchs  commonly  rode  on  horses, 
the  servants  of  the  court  on  mules,  and  the  princess¬ 
es,  together  with  the  principal  ladies,  sometimes  at 
least,  on  asses.  Carriages  of  some  sort,  however, 
appear  to  have  been  used  at  a  very  early  period  there. 
An  ordinance  of  Philip  the  Fair,  issued  in  1294,  for¬ 
bids  their  use  by  the  wives  of  citizens. 

19.  In  the  year  1550,  three  coaches  were  intro¬ 
duced  into  Paris  ;  one  of  which  belonged  to  the  queen, 
another  to  Diana  de  Poictiers,  and  the  third  to  Rai- 
mond  de  Laval,  a  cavalier  of  the  court  of  Francis  I., 
who  was  so  large  that  no  horse  could  carry  him.  It 
is  not  certain,  however,  that  the  body  of  these  ve¬ 
hicles  were  suspended  on  leather  straps.  The  in¬ 
ventor  of  this  material  improvement  cannot  be  ascer¬ 
tained,  nor  is  it  positively  determined,  that  it  had 
been  made,  until  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century. 

20.  Coaches  were  introduced  into  Spain  and  Por¬ 
tugal,  in  the  year  1546,  and  into  Sweden  near  the 


THE  WHEELWRIGHT. 


167 


close  of  the  same  century.  In  the  capital  of  Russia, 
there  were  elegant  coaches  as  early  as  the  beginning 
of  the  seventeenth  century.  In  Switzerland,  they  * 
were  rare,  as  late  as  1650.  Carriages  began  to  be 
used  at  Naples  in  the  thirteenth  century ;  from  this 
place  they  spread  all  over  Italy  ;  and  here,  also,  glass 
panels  originated. 

21.  Carriages  of  some  sort  were  used  in  England 
at  a  very  early  period,  and  those  first  employed  by  the 
ladies,  were  called  whirlicoats.  According  to  some 
authors,  coaches  were  introduced  in  the  year  1555 ; 
but,  according  to  others,  not  until  twenty-five  years 
after  this  period.  Before  the  latter  date,  Queen  Eliz¬ 
abeth,  on  public  occasions,  rode  on  the  same  horse 
with  her  chamberlain,  seated  behind  him  on  a  pillion  ; 
although,  in  the  early  part  of  her  reign,  she  owned  a  * 
chariot. 

22.  In  1601,  men  were  forbidden  the  use  of  the 
coach  by  act  of  Parliament,  the  legislators  supposing 
such  indulgence  to  be  too  effeminate  ;  but  this  law 
seems  to  have  been  little  regarded,  as  this  vehicle  was 
in  common  use,  about  the  year  1605.  Twenty  years 
after  this  time,  hackney  coaches  began  to  ply  in  Lon¬ 
don  ;  but  these  were  prohibited,  in  1635,  on  the  alleged 
ground  that  the  support  of  so  many  horses  increased 
the  expense  of  keeping  those  belonging  to  the  king. 

Two  years  after  this,  however,  fifty  coaches  were  li¬ 
censed,  and,  in  1770,  there  were  one  thousand. 

23.  The  stage-coach  was  first  employed  in  France, 
and  was  introduced  into  England,  near  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  by  Jethro  Tull,  the  celebrated 
agriculturist.  They  were  not  employed,  in  any  coun¬ 
try,  in  the  transportation  of  the  mail,  until  the  year 
1784.  Before  this  time,  it  was  carried  chiefly  on 
horseback, 

24.  In  the  United  States,  the  manufacture  of  car¬ 
riages  of  every  kind  has  greatly  increased  within  a  few 


168 


THE  WHEELWRIGHT. 


years,  and  those  lately  made  exhibit  many  improve¬ 
ments  on  those  of  former  periods.  The  places  which 
•  seem  to  be  most  distinguished  for  the  manufacture  of 
good  carriages,  in  this  country,  are  Philadelphia,  New¬ 
ark,  and  Troy. 


{ 


'  S  ' 


i 


THE  POTTER. 


1.  The  artisan  called  the  potter  converts  plastic 
materials  into  hard  and  brittle  vessels  of  various 
kinds,  denominated,  in  general  terms,  earthen  ware . 

2.  Alumine  is  the  basis  of  all  clays,  and  is  the  only 
earth  that  possesses  the  degree  of  plasticity  which  ren¬ 
ders  the  operations  of  the  potter  practicable.  It  is, 
however,  never  found  or  used  in  a  pure  state,  but  in 
combination  with  other  substances,  particularly  with 
silex,  lime,  magnesia,  and  the  oxyde  of  iron. 

3.  In  the  manufacture  of  vessels  from  argillaceous 
compounds,  the  different  degrees  of  beauty  and  cost¬ 
liness  depend  upon  the  quality  of  the  raw  materials, 
and  the  labor  and  skill  expended  in  the  operation. 
The  various  productions  of  the  pottery  may  be  class¬ 
ed  under  the  following  denominations — common  earth- 

II.— P 


170 


THE  POTTER. 


en  ware,  white  earthen  ware,  stone  ware,  and  porce¬ 
lain  ;  but  of  each  of  these  there  are  many  varieties. 

4.  Common  earthen  ware. — This  ware  is  made  of  a 
kind  of  clay  very  generally  diffused  over  the  earth, 
and  which  is  essentially  the  same  with  that  employed 
in  making  bricks.  The  potters  are  often  supplied 
with  this  material  by  the  brickmakers,  who  select  for 
them  that  which  is  too  tenacious,  or  fat,  for  their  own 
purpose.  All  common  clays  contain  more  or  less  of 
the  oxyde  of  iron,  which  causes  the  wares  made  of 
them  to  turn  red  in  burning. 

5.  In  preparing  the  clay  for  use,  the  potter  adds  to 
it,  when  necessary,  a  portion  of  fine  loam,  in  order  to 
lessen  its  tenacity,  and  to  prevent  the  vessels  to  be 
made  of  it  from  cracking,  while  undergoing  the  fire. 
When  the  materials  have  been  mixed,  and  partially 
incorporated  with  water,  the  mass  is  thrown  into  a 
tub,  fixed  in  the  ground  about  one-half  of  its  depth. 
In  the  centre  of  this  tub,  is  placed  a  shaft,  in  a  per¬ 
pendicular  position,  from  which  radiate,  in  a  horizon¬ 
tal  direction,  a  number  of  knives  or  cutters. 

6.  This  machine  is  put  in  motion  by  horse-power, 
a-nd  by  it  the  clay  is  repeatedly  cut,  and  properly 
kneaded.  The  workman  then  cuts  it  into  thin  slices 
with  a  small  wire,  and,  having  rejected  all  matters 
not  fit  for  his  purpose,  he  further  kneads  it  with  his 
hands,  and  forms  it  into  lumps,  corresponding  in 
amount  of  matter  with  the  different  vessels  which  he 
proposes  to  make. 

7.  For  the  best  kinds  of  this  ware,  the  same  spe¬ 
cies  of  clay  is  used  ;  but  then  it  is  differently  pre¬ 
pared.  It  is  first  dissolved  in  water  ;  and,  when  the 
coarser  particles  have  settled  to  the  bottom  of  the 
vessel,  the  fluid  suspending  the  rest  is  drawn  off,  and 
made  to  pass  through  a  sieve  into  a  reservoir.  After 
the  particles  of  the  material  have  precipitated,  the 
water  is  drawn  off.  and  the  residuum  is  thrown  upon 


THE  POTTER. 


171 


a  large  flat  pan  or  reservoir  made  of  bricks,  where 
the  mass  is  freed  from  its  superfluous  moisture  by 
evaporation  in  the  air,  or  by  means  of  artificial  heat 
applied  beneath.  It  is  then  laid  by  in  a  damp  place, 
for  future  use. 

8.  Before  the  clay,  thus  purified  from  extraneous 
and  coarser  particles,  is  formed  into  vessels,  it  is  beat¬ 
en  with  a  stout  piece  of  wood,  until  the  mass  has  be¬ 
come  of  an  equal  consistence  throughout,  and  then 
repeatedly  cut  into  two  pieces  with  a  wire,  and  slap¬ 
ped  together  to  expel  the  air.  The  former  of  these 
operations  is  called  wedging,  and  the  latter,  slapping. 

9.  White  and  cream-colored  wares  are  made  of 
clays  which  contain  so  little  oxyde  of  iron,  that  it 
does  not  turn  red  in  burning,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
improves  in  whiteness  in  the  furnace.  There  are 
several  species  of  white  clay,  found  in  many  different 
localities,  most  of  which,  however,  are  known  under 
the  denomination  of  pipe-clay;  or  they  are  distin¬ 
guished  by  the  names  of  the  places  where  they  are 
obtained. 

10.  In  preparing  these  clays  for  use,  they  are  re¬ 
duced  to  a  minute  division  by  machinery,  and  after¬ 
wards  dissolved  in  water,  and  otherwise  treated  in  a 
manner  similar  to  that  used  for  the  better  kinds  of 
common  wares,  as  described  in  the  seventh  and  eighth 
paragraphs.  For  the  purpose  of  diminishing  the 
shrinkage  in  the  fire,  and  with  the  view  of  increasing 
the  whiteness  of  the  ware,  pulverized  flint-stone  is 
added  to  the  clay,  in  the  proportion  of  about  one  part 
of  the  former  to  five  of  the  latter. 

11.  In  reducing  the  silex  to  the  requisite  fineness, 
it  is  first  brought  to  a  red  heat ;  and,  while  in  this 
state,  it  is  thrown  into  cold  water,  to  diminish  the  co¬ 
hesion  of  its  parts.  It  is  then  pounded  by  machinery, 
levigated  with  water  in  a  mill,  sifted,  mashed,  and 


172 


THE  POTTER. 


otherwise  treated  like  the  clay.  The  materials  are 
mixed  while  in  a  state  of  thin  pulp. 

12.  The  several  operations  performed  by  the  pot¬ 
ter,  in  converting  the  clay  thus  prepared  into  differ¬ 
ent  kinds  of  vessels,  and  in  completing  the  whole  pro¬ 
cess  of  the  manufacture  of  earthen  ware,  may  be  in¬ 
cluded  under  the  following  divisions,  viz.,  throwing, 
turning,  pressing,  burning,  painting  and  printing,  and 
glazing.  They  are  not,  however,  all  used  in  produ¬ 
cing  and  finishing  vessels  of  every  shape  and  quality. 

13.  Throwing.— This  operation  is  performed  on  a 
potter’s  wheel,  which  consists  of  a  round  table,  and 
some  simple  means  to  put  it  in  motion.  The  clay 
having  been  placed  on  the  centre  of  this  machine,  the 
workman  communicates  to  the  latter  a  rotary  motion 
with  his  foot,  and  gives  the  proposed  form  to  the  ma¬ 
terial  with  his  hands,  which  have  been  previously  wet 
with  water,  to  prevent  them  from  sticking.  This 
method  is  used  for  all  vessels  and  parts  of  vessels  of 
a  circular  form  ;  and,  in  many  cases,  no  other  opera¬ 
tion  is  necessary  to  give  them  the  requisite  finish,  so 
far  as  their  conformation  is  concerned. 

14.  Turning. — The  vessels  are  cut  from  the  throw¬ 
er’s  wheel  with  a  small  wire  ;  and  when,  by  the  evap¬ 
oration  of  moisture,  they  have  become  firm  enough 
to  endure  the  operation,  they  are  turned  on  a  lathe. 
The  objects  of  this  operation  are  to  communicate  to 
them  a  more  exact  shape,  and  to  render  them  more 
uniform  in  thickness.  The  potter’s  wheel,  with  the 
addition  of  some  contrivance  to  hold  the  pieces  in  a 
proper  position,  is  frequently  used  for  turning.  The 
coarser  kinds  of  common  wares  are  never  turned. 

15.  Pressing. — Vessels,  or  parts  of  vessels,  which 
are  of  an  irregular  shape,  and  which  cannot  be  form¬ 
ed  on  the  wheel,  are  usually  made  by  a  process  called 
pressing.  This  kind  of  work  is  executed  in  moulds 
made  of  plaster  of  Paris,  and  these  are  formed  on 


THE  POTTER. 


173 


models  of  clay  or  wood,  which  have  been  made  in  the 
exact  shape  of  the  proposed  vessel.  Sometimes  in¬ 
dividual  specimens  of  the  wares  of  one  country  or 
pottery  are  used  as  models  in  another ;  in  such  ca¬ 
ses,  the  expense  of  the  moulds  is  considerably  di¬ 
minished. 

16.  The  moulds  frequently  consist  of  several  parts, 
which  fit  accurately  together  ;  for  example,  the  mould 
for  a  pitcher  is  composed  of  two  pieces  for  the  sides, 
and  one  for  the  bottom.  In  forming  a  pitcher  in  such 
a  mould,  the  material,  which  has  been  spread  out  to 
a  proper  and  uniform  thickness,  is  laid  upon  the  in¬ 
side  of  each  portion  of  it,  and  the  superfluous  clay  is 
trimmed  off  with  a  knife.  The  mould  is  then  closed, 
and  thin  strips  of  clay  are  laid  over  the  seams  ;  the 
removal  of  the  several  pieces  of  the  mould,  completes 
the  operation. 

17.  Handles,  spouts,  figures  in  relief,  and  other 
additions  of  this  nature,  are  separately  made  in 
moulds,  and  stuck  on  the  vessel  with  the  same  kind 
of  materials,  sometimes  mingled  with  a  small  propor¬ 
tion  of  plaster  of  Paris.  These  appendages  are  ad¬ 
ded  after  the  vessels  have  become  partially  solid  in 
the  air. 

18.  Burning. — All  vessels,  even  after  they  have 
been  dried  in  the  atmosphere,  are  in  a  very  frangible 
state  ;  and,  to  render  them  sufficiently  firm  for  use, 
they  are  submitted  to  the  process  of  burning  in  a 
kiln.  To  preserve  the  ware  from  injury  while  en¬ 
during  the  fire,  the  several  pieces  are  enclosed  in 
cylindrical  boxes  called  saggers ,  which  are  made  of 
baked  clay.  These  boxes  are  placed  one  above  an¬ 
other  around  the  sides  of  the  kiln,  which  is  of  a  cir¬ 
cular  form,  and  gradually  tapering  to  the  top. 

19.  In  burning  the  coarser  wares,  every  piece  is 
not  thus  inclosed ;  but,  between  every  two  saggers,  a 
naked  piece  is  placed.  A  moderate  fire  is  first  raised. 

P  2 


174 


THE  POTTER. 


which  is  gradually  increased,  until  the  contents  of  the 
kiln  are  brought  to  a  red  heat.  The  burning  occu¬ 
pies  between  twenty-four  and  forty-eight  hours.  All 
wares,  except  the  coarsest  kinds,  are  twice,  and  some¬ 
times  thrice,  burned  ;  and,  after  having  been  once 
submitted  to  the  process,  they  are  said  to  be  in  a 
state  of  biscuit. 

20.  Painting  and  'printing. — When  the  vessels  are 
to  be  ornamented  with  colors,  it  is  necessary,  in  most 
cases,  that  this  part  of  the  work  be  done  after  the  first 
burning.  In  China,  and  at  the  porcelain  manufactory 
in  Philadelphia,  the  drawings  are  executed  by  hand 
with  a  pencil.  The  same  method  is  used  in  Europe 
in  elaborate  pieces  of  workmanship.  But,  in  the  com¬ 
mon  figured  wares,  where  but  one  color  is  used,  the 
designs  are  first  engraved  on  metallic  plates,  and  im¬ 
pressions  are  taken  from  them  on  thin  paper,  by 
means  of  a  copperplate  printing-press. 

21.  In  transferring  to  vessels  designs  thus  pro¬ 
duced,  the  paper,  while  in  a  damp  state,  is  applied 
closely  to  the  surface  of  the  biscuit,  and  rubbed  on 
with  a  piece  of  flannel.  The  porosity  of  the  earthen 
material  causes  the  immediate  absorption  of  the  col¬ 
oring  matter,  which,  in  all  cases,  is  some  metallic 
oxyde.  For  a  blue  color,  the  oxyde  of  cobalt  is 
used  ;  and  for  a  black,  those  of  manganese  and  iron. 
The  paper  is  washed  from  the  ware  with  a  sponge. 

22.  Glazing. — To  prevent  the  penetration  of  fluids, 
and  to  improve  the  appearance  of  the  ware,  a  super¬ 
ficial  vitreous  coating  is  necessary.  This  can  be 
produced  by  the  aid  of  various  substances ;  but,  in  a 
majority  of  cases,  red  lead  is  the  basis  of  the  mixture 
employed  for  this  purpose.  Equal  parts  of  ground 
flints  and  red  lead  are  used  for  the  common  cream- 
colored  wares.  These  materials  are  mixed  with,  and 
suspended  in,  water,  and  each  piece  is  dipped  in  the 
liquid.  The  moisture  is  soon  absorbed  by  the  clay, 


THE  POTTER. 


175 


leaving  the  glazing  particles  on  the  surface,  which,  in 
the  burning  that  follows,  is  converted  into  a  uniform 
and  durable  vitreous  coating. 

23.  Stone  ware. — The  materials  of  this  ware,  as 
well  as  the  mode  of  preparing  them,  differ  but  little 
from  those  of  the  common  and  better  kinds  of  earthen 
wares.  The  clays,  however,  which  contain  but  little 
or  no  oxyde  of  iron  are  chosen,  since  this  substance 
would  cause  the  ware  to  melt  and  warp,  before  a  suf¬ 
ficient  degree  of  heat  could  be  applied  to  give  it  the 
requisite  hardness. 

24.  The  glazing  is  formed  by  a  vitrification  of  the 
surface  of  the  vessels,  caused  by  the  action  of  common 
salt  thrown  into  the  kiln,  when  it  has  been  raised  to 
its  greatest  heat.  This  glazing  is  more  perfect  than 
that  on  ordinary  earthen  wares,  being  insoluble  by 
most  chemical  agents.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  re¬ 
mark  that  this  method  of  glazing  precludes  the  use  of 
saggers. 

25.  Porcelain. — This  ware  exceeds  every  other 
kind  in  the  delicacy  of  its  texture,  and  is  peculiarly 
distinguished  by  a  beautiful  semi-transparency,  which 
is  conspicuous  when  held  against  the  light.  In  China, 
it  is  made  chiefly  of  two  kinds  of  earth  ;  one  of 
which  is  denominated  petuntze,  and  the  other  kaolin ; 
but  both  are  varieties  of  feldspar,  found  in  the  mount¬ 
ains,  in  different  localities.  They  are  brought  to  the 
manufactories  from  a  distance  in  the  form  of  bricks  ; 
the  materials,  as  taken  from  the  mines,  having  been 
reduced  to  an  impalpable  powder  in  mortars,  either  by 
the  labor  of  men  or  by  water-power. 

26.  These  materials  are  combined  in  different  pro¬ 
portions  in  the  manufacture,  according  to  the  quality 
of  the  proposed  ware.  In  the  best  kind,  equal  quan¬ 
tities  are  used  ;  but  for  those  of  inferior  quality,  a 
greater  proportion  of  petuntze  is  employed.  The 
translucency  so  much  admired  in  porcelain,  or  tseki, 


176 


THE  POTTER. 


as  the  Chinese  call  k,  is  owing  to  the  petuntze,  which, 
in  burning,  partially  melts,  and  envelops  the  infusi¬ 
ble  kaolin. 

27.  It  is  not  known  who  was  the  inventor  of  por¬ 
celain,  as  the  Chinese  annals  are  silent  with  regard  to 
this  point ;  nor  do  we  know  more  of  the  date  at  which 
the  manufacture  was  commenced.  It  is  certain,  how¬ 
ever,  that  it  must  have  been  before  the  fifth  century 
of  the  Christian  era.  Since  this  ware  has  been  known 
to  Europeans,  it  has  been  manufactured  chiefly,  and 
in  the  greatest  perfection,  in  the  large  and  populous 
village  of  King-te-ching. 

28.  Porcelain  was  first  brought  to  Europe  from 
Japan  and  China,  and  for  a  long  time  its  materials 
and  mode  of  manufacture  remained  a  secret,  in  spite 
of  the  efforts  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries,  who  resided 
in  those  countries.  At  length,  in  1712,  Father  Entre- 
colles  sent  home  to  France,  specimens  of  petuntze 
and  kaolin,  together  with  a  summary  description  of 
the  process  of  the  manufacture. 

29.  Shortly  after  this  important  event  had  trans¬ 
pired,  it  was  discovered  that  materials  nearly  of  the 
same  kind  existed  in  abundance  in  various  parts  of 
Europe.  The  manufacture  of  porcelain  was,  there-  > 
fore,  soon  commenced  in  several  places ;  and  it  has 
since  been  successfully  carried  on. 

30.  The  porcelain  wares  of  Europe  are  superior  to 
those  of  the  Chinese,  in  the  variety  and  elegance  of  their 
forms,  as  well  as  in  the  beauty  of  the  designs  executed 
upon  them  ;  but,  as  some  of  the  processes  successfully 
practised  in  China,  remain  still  to  be  learned  by  the 
Europeans,  the  Oriental  porcelain  has  not  yet  been 
equalled  in  the  hardness,  strength,  and  durability  of  its 
body,  and  in  the  permanency  of  its  glaze.  The  man¬ 
ufacturers  of  Saxony  are  said  to  have  been  the  most 
successful  In  their  imitations  in  these  respects. 

HI.  The  .porcelain  earths  are  found  in  various  parts 


V 


THE  POTTER. 


177 


of  the  United  States,  but  particularly  at  Wilmington, 
in  the  state  of  Delaware.  Nevertheless,  there  is  now 
but  one  porcelain  manufactory  in  our  country,  and 
this  is  yet  in  its  infancy.  The  establishment  is  loca¬ 
ted  in  Philadelphia,  and  it  has  been  lately  incorpora¬ 
ted,  with  the  privilege  of  one  hundred  thousand  dol¬ 
lars  capital. 

32.  The  principle  of  induration  by  heat,  is  the  same 
in  the  manufacture  of  earthen  wares  as  in  making 
bricks  ;  and,  as  the  latter  can  be  more  easily  dis¬ 
pensed  with  than  the  former  in  a  primitive  state  of  so¬ 
ciety,  it  is  but  reasonable  to  suppose  that  earthen 
ware  was  first  invented  ;  but  the  art  of  making  bricks 
must  have  been  practised  before  the  deluge,  or  the 
posterity  of  Noah  would  not  have  attempted  so  soon 
as  about  one  hundred  years  after  that  catastrophe,  to 
build  a  city  and  a  tower  of  these  materials.  It  is, 
therefore,  evident,  that  this  art  was  of  antediluvian 
origin  ;  and  it  was  probably  one  of  the  earliest  brought 
to  any  degree  of  perfection. 

33.  The  art  of  the  potter  was  practised  more  or 
less  by  every  nation  of  antiquity,  and  the  degree  of 
perfection  to  which  it  was  carried  in  every  country 
corresponded  with  the  state  of  the  arts  generally. 
The  Greeks  were  consequently  very  celebrated  for 
their  earthen  wares.  The  Etruscans  have  also  been 
particularly  noted  for  their  manufacture  of  the  elegant 
vases  which  have  been  dug,  in  modern  times,  from  the 
depositories  of  the  dead,  in  Lower  Italy. 

34.  Until  the  commencement  of  the  manufacture 
of  porcelain  in  Europe,  this  art  continued  in  a  very 
rude  condition,  although  practised  to  a  considerable 
extent  in  many  places.  It  was  much  improved  in 
England  about  the  year  1720,  by  the  addition  of  flints 
to  the  usual  material ;  and,  between  thirty  and  forty 
years  after  this,  it  was  brought  to  great  perfection,  in 
all  its  branches,  chiefly  through  the  scientific  exer¬ 
tions  of  the  celebrated  potter,  Josiah  Wedgewood. 


i 


THE  GLASS-BLOWER. 


1.  Glass  is  a  substance  produced  from  a  combina¬ 
tion  of  silicious  earths  with  alkalies,  and,  in  many 
cases,  with  metallic  oxydes.  The  basis  of  every  spe¬ 
cies  of  glass  is  silex,  which  is  found  in  a  state  nearly 
pure  in  the  sands  of  many  situations.  It  is  also  found 
in  the  common  flints  and  quartz  pebbles. 

2.  When  quartz  pebbles  or  flints  are  employed, 
they  must  be  first  reduced  to  powder.  This  is  done 
by  grinding  them  in  a  mill,  after  they  have  been  par¬ 
tially  reduced,  by  heating  them  in  the  fire,  and  plun¬ 
ging  them  into  cold  water.  Sand  has  the  advantage  of 
being  already  in  a  state  of  division  sufficiently  minute 
for  the  purpose.  To  prepare  it  for  application,  it  only 
requires  to  be  washed  and  sifted,  in  order  to  free  it 
from  the  argillaceous  and  other  substances  unfit  for 


THE  GLASS-BLOWER. 


179 


use.  A  great  proportion  of  the  sand  employed  in  the 
manufacture  of  the  better  kinds  of  glass  in  the  United 
States,  is  taken  from  the  banks  of  the  Delaware  River. 

3.  The  alkaline  substances  used  are  potash  and 
soda.  For  the  finer  kinds  of  glass,  pearlash,  or  soda 
procured  by  decomposing  sea-salt,  is  used ;  but,  for 
the  inferior  sorts,  impure  alkalies,  such  as  barilla, 
Scotch  and  Irish  kelp,  and  even  wood-ashes,  as  well 
as  the  refuse  of  the  soap-boiler’s  kettle,  are  made  to 
answer  the  purpose.  Lime,  borax,  and  common  salt, 
are  also  frequently  used  as  a  flux  in  aid  of  some  of 
the  other  substances  just  mentioned. 

4.  Of  the  metallic  oxydes  which  make  a  part  of 
the  materials  of  some  glass,  the  deutoxyde  of  lead,  or, 
as  it  is  usually  denominated,  red  lead,  is  the  most 
common.  This  substance  is  employed  in  making 
flint  glass,  which  is  rendered  by  it  more  fusible,  heavy 
and  tough,  and  more  easy  to  be  ground  or  cut,  while, 
at  the  same  time,  it  increases  its  brilliancy  and  refrac¬ 
tive  power. 

5.  Black  oxyde  of  manganese  is  also  used  in  small 
quantities,  with  the  view  of  rendering  the  glass  more 
colorless  and  transparent.  Common  nitre  produces 
the  same  effect.  White  arsenic  is  also  added  to  the 
materials  of  this  kind  of  glass,  to  promote  its  clear¬ 
ness  ;  but,  if  too  much  is  used,  it  communicates  a 
milky  whiteness.  The  use  of  this  substance  in  drink¬ 
ing  vessels  is  not  free  from  danger,  when  the  glass 
contains  so  much  alkali  as  to  render  any  part  of  it 
soluble  in  acids. 

6.  The  furnace  in  which  the  materials  are  melted 
is  a  large  conical  stack,  such  as  is  represented  at  the 
head  of  this  article.  In  some  cases,  it  is  surrounded  by 
a  large  chimney,  which  extends  above  the  roof  of  the 
building.  In  the  sides  are  several  apertures,  near 
which  are  placed  the  crucibles,  or  melting-pots,  con¬ 
taining  the  materials.  The  fuel  is  applied  in  an  arch, 


180  THE  GLASS-BLOWER. 

which  is  considerably  lower  than  the  surface  of  the 
ground  on  which  the  operators  stand,  while  at  work. 

7.  The  melting-pots  are  made  chiefly  of  the  most 
refractory  clays  and  sand.  Much  of  the  clay  used 
for  this  purpose,  in  many  of  the  glass-houses  in  the 
United  States,  is  imported  from  Germany.  The  ma¬ 
terials,  having  been  sifted,  and  mixed  with  a  suitable 
quantity  of  water,  the  homogeneous  mass  is  formed 
into  crucibles,  by  spreading  it  on  the  inside  of  vessels 
which  are  much  in  the  shape  of  a  common  wash-tub. 
After  the  clay  has  become  sufficiently  solid  to  sustain 
itself,  the  hoops  are  removed  from  the  vessel,  and  the 
several  staves  taken  apart. 

8.  The  crucibles  are  suffered  to  dry  in  the  atmo¬ 
sphere  for  two  or  three  months,  after  which  they  are 
applied  to  use  as  they  may  be  needed.  Before  they 
are  placed  in  the  main  furnace,  they  are  gradually 
raised  to  an  intense  heat  in  one  of  smaller  dimen¬ 
sions,  built  for  this  express  purpose.  The  fuel  em¬ 
ployed  in  fusing  the  metal  is  chiefly  pine  wood,  which, 
in  all  cases,  is  previously  dried  in  a  large  oven.  Four 
of  the  five  furnaces  near  Philadelphia,  which  belonged 
to  Doctor  Dyott,  were  heated  with  rosin. 

9.  The  materials  having  been  mixed,  in  the  pro¬ 
posed  proportions,  which  are  determined  by  weight, 
they  are  thrown  into  the  melting-pots,  and,  by  a  grad¬ 
ually  increasing  heat,  reduced  to  a  paste,  suitable  for 
application  by  the  blower.  This  part  of  the  process 
is  commonly  performed  at  night,  while  the  blowers  are 
absent  from  the  works. 

10.  The  applications  of  glass  are  so  exceedingly 
extensive,  that  it  is  inconvenient,  if  not  impossible,  to 
manufacture  every  spec-ies  of  it  at  one  glass-house 
or  at  one  establishment.  Some,  therefore,  confine 
their  attention  to  the  production  of  window  glass,  and 
such  articles  of  hollow  ware  as  may  be  made,  with 
profit,  from  the  same  kind  of  paste.  Others  make 


THE  G  L  A  S  S-B  LOWER. 


181 


vials  and  other  species  of  ware,  employed  by  the  drug¬ 
gist,  apothecary,  and  chemist.  And  again,  the  efforts, 
at  some  factories,  are  confined  entirely  to  the  manufac¬ 
ture  of  flint  glass,  or  to  that  of  plate  glass  for  mirrors. 

11.  The  principal  operations  connected  with  the 
manufacture  of  different  species  of  glass,  after  the 
paste  has  been  prepared,  may  be  included  under  the 
following  heads ;  viz.,  blowing,  casting,  moulding, 
pressing  and  grinding ;  although  all  these  are  never 
performed  in  one  and  the  same  establishment. 

12.  Blowing. — The  operation  of  blowing  is  nearly 
or  quite  the  same  in  the  production  of  every  species 
of  glass  ware,  in  which  it  is  employed.  The  manipu¬ 
lations,  however,  connected  with  making  different  ar¬ 
ticles,  are  considerably  varied,  to  suit  their  particular 
conformation.  This  circumstance  renders  it  impos¬ 
sible  for  us  to  give  more  than  a  general  outline  of  the 
process  of  this  manufacture. 

13.  In  the  formation  of  window  glass,  the  work¬ 
man  gathers  upon  the  end  of  an  iron  tube  a  sufficient 
amount  of  the  metal,  which  he  brings  to  a  cylindrical 
form  by  rolling  it  upon  a  cast  iron  or  stone  table. 
He  then  blows  through  the  tube  with  considerable 
force,  and  thus  expands  the  glass  to  the  form  of  an  in¬ 
flated  bladder.  The  inflation  is  assisted  by  the  heat, 
which  causes  the  air  and  moisture  of  the  breath  to  ex¬ 
pand  with  great  power. 

14.  Whenever  the  glass  has  become  too  stiff,  by 
cooling,  for  inflation,  it  is  again  softened  by  holding  it 
in  the  blaze  of  the  fuel,  and  the  blowing  is  repeated,  un¬ 
til  the  globe  has  been  expanded  to  the  requisite  thin¬ 
ness.  Another  workman  next  receives  it  at  the  oth¬ 
er  end,  upon  an  iron  rod,  called  a  punt,  or  punting  iron , 
when  the  blowing  iron  is  detached.  It  is  now  open¬ 
ed,  and  spread  into  a  smooth  sheet,  by  the  centrifugal 
force,  acquired  by  the  rapid  whirl  given  to  it,  in  the 
manner  exhibited  in  the  preceding  cut.  The  sheet 

II.— Q 


182 


THE  GLASS-BLOWER. 


thus  produced  is  of  a  uniform  thickness,  except  at  the 
centre,  where  the  iron  rod  had  been  attached. 

15.  An  inferior  kind  of  window  glass,  the  materi¬ 
als  of  which  are  sand,  kelp,  and  soap-boilers’  waste, 
is  made  by  blowing  the  metal  into  cones,  about  a  foot 
in  diameter  at  their  base ;  and  these,  while  hot,  are 
touched  on  one  side  with  a  cold  iron  dipped  in  water. 
This  produces  a  crack,  which  runs  through  the  whole 
length  of  the  cone.  The  glass  then  expands  into  a 
sheet  somewhat  resembling  a  fan.  This  is  supposed 
to  be  the  oldest  method  of  manufacturing  window  or 
plate  glass. 

16.  The  window  glass  produced  in  the  manner  first 
described,  is  called  crown  glass ;  and  the  other,  broad 
glass.  But  by  neither  of  these  methods  can  the  lar¬ 
gest  panes  be  produced.  The  blowing  for  these  differs 
from  the  methods  just  described,  in  that  the  material 
is  blown  into  an  irregular  cylinder,  open  at  its  further 
end.  When  a  sufficient  number  of  these  cylinders  have 
accumulated,  the  end  to  which  the  blowing  iron  had 
been  attached,  is  capped  off  by  drawing  round  it  a  circle 
of  melted  glass,  and  the  cylinder  is  divided  longitudi¬ 
nally  by  touching  it  through  its  whole  length  with  a 
hot  iron.  The  cylinders,  in  this  state,  are  put  into 
the  annealing  oven,  where,  by  aid  of  a  heat  which 
raises  the  glass  to  redness,  it  is  expanded  into  sheets. 
These  sheets  are  then  broken  into  panes  of  several 
sizes  by  the  aid  of  a  diamond  and  a  straight  edge,  as  in 
the  case  of  glass  blown  by  other  methods. 

17.  Casting. — Plate  glass  formed  by  the  method 
last  mentioned,  is  denominated  cylinder  glass ;  and  ii 
is  used  not  only  for  windows,  but  also  for  mirrors  not 
exceeding  four  feet  in  length.  Plates  of  greater  di¬ 
mensions  are  produced  by  a  process  called  casting . 
The  casting  is  performed  by  pouring  the  material,  in  a 
high  state  of  fusion,  upon  a  table  of  polished  copper  of 
large  size,  and  having  a  rim  elevated  above  its  gen- 


THE  GLASS-BLOWER. 


183 


eral  surface,  as  high  as  the  proposed  plate  is  to  be 
thick.  To  spread  the  glass  perfectly,  and  to  render 
the  two  surfaces  parallel,  a  heavy  roller  of  polished 
copper,  resting  upon  the  rim  at  the  edges,  is  passed 
over  it. 

18.  Plates  thus  cast  are  always  dull  and  uneven. 
To  render  them  good  reflectors,  it  is  necessary  to 
grind  and  polish  them.  The  plate  to  be  polished  is 
first  cemented  with  plaster  of  Paris  to  a  table  of  wood 
or  stone.  A  quantity  of  wet  sand,  emery,  or  pulver¬ 
ized  flints,  is  spread  upon  it,  and  another  glass  plate, 
similarly  cemented  to  a  wooden  or  stone  surface,  is 
placed  upon  it.  The  two  plates  are  then  rubbed  to¬ 
gether,  until  their  surfaces  have  become  plane  and 
smooth.  The  last  polish  is  given  by  colcothar  and 
putty.  Both  sides  are  polished  in  the  same  manner. 

19.  Moulding. — Ornamental  forms  and  letters  are 
produced  on  the  external  surface  of  vessels,  by  means 
of  metallic  moulds;  and  the  process  by  which  this 
kind  of  work  is  performed  is  called  moulding.  In  the 
execution,  the  workman  gathers  upon  the  end  of  his 
iron  tube,  a  proper  amount  of  the  material,  which  he 
extends,  and  brings  to  a  cylindrical  form,  by  rolling  it 
upon  his  table.  He  then  expands  it  a  little  by  a  slight 
blast,  and  afterwards  lets  it  down  into  the  mould,  which 
is  immediately  filled  by  blowing  still  stronger  through 
the  tube. 

20.  The  vessel  is  then  taken  from  the  mould,  and  dis¬ 
engaged  from  the  tube.  The  same  tube,  or  a  punting 
iron  having  been  attached  to  the  bottom,  the  other  end 
is  softened  in  the  fire,  and  brought  to  the  proposed 
form  with  appropriate  tools,  while  the  iron  is  rolled 
up  and  down  upon  the  long  arms  of  the  glass-blower’s 
chair.  The  ornamental  moulds  are  made  of  cast  iron, 
brass,  or  copper,  and  are  composed  of  two  parts,  which 
open  and  shut  upon  hinges.  The  moulds  for  plain 
vials,  castor  oil  bottles,  small  demijohns,  &c.,  are 


184 


THE  GLASS-BLOWER. 


made  of  the  kind  of  clay  used  for  the  crucibles. 
These  consist  merely  of  a  mass  of  the  clay,  with  a 
cylindrical  hole  in  it  of  proper  diameter  and  depth. 

21.  Pressing . — This  process  is  applied  in  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  vessels  or  articles  which  are  very  thick, 
^nd  which  are  not  contracted  at  the  top.  The  opera¬ 
tion  is  performed  in  iron  moulds,  which  consist  of  two 
varts,  and  which  have  upon  their  internal  surfaces  the 
figures  to  be  impressed  upon  the  glass.  The  material, 
while  in  an  elastic  condition,  is  put  into  the  lower  part 
of  the  mould  ;  and  the  other  part,  called  the  follower ,  is 
immediately  brought  upon  it  with  considerable  force. 

22.  Every  species  of  glass,  before  it  can  be  used 
with  safety,  must  be  annealed,  to  diminish  its  brittle¬ 
ness.  The  annealing  consists  merely  in  letting  down 
the  temperature  by  degrees.  Small  boys,  therefore, 
convey  the  articles,  whatever  they  may  be,  as  fast  as 
they  are  made,  to  a  moderately  heated  oven,  which, 
when  filled,  is  suffered  to  cool  by  degrees. 

23.  Cutting. — The  name  of  cut  glass  is  given  to 
the  kind  which  is  ground  and  polished  in  figures,  ap¬ 
pearing  as  if  cut  with  a  sharp  instrument.  This  op¬ 
eration  is  confined  chiefly  to  flint  glass,  which,  being 
more  tough  and  soft  than  the  other  kinds,  is  more  ea¬ 
sily  wrought.  In  addition  to  this,  it  is  considerably 
more  brilliant,  producing  specimens  of  greater  lustre. 

24.  An  establishment  for  grinding  glass  contains 
a  great  number  of  wheels  of  cast  iron,  stone,  and 
wood,  of  different  sizes  ;  and  the  process  consists 
entirely  in  holding  the  glass  against  these,  while  they 
are  revolving  with  rapidity.  When  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  material  is  to  be  removed,  the  grinding 
is  commonly  commenced  on  the  iron  wheel,  on  which 
is  constantly  pouring  water  and  sharp  sand,  from  a 
vessel  above,  which,  from  its  shape,  is  called  a  hopper . 

25.  The  period  of  the  invention  of  glass  is  quite 
unknown ;  but  the  following  is  the  usual  story  of  its 


THE  GLASS-BLOWER. 


185 


origin.  Some  merchants,  driven  by  a  storm  upon  the 
coasts  of  Phoenicia,  near  the  River  Belus,  kindled  a  fire 
on  the  sand  to  cook  their  victuals,  using  as  fuel  some 
weeds  which  grew  near.  The  ashes  produced  by  the 
incineration  of  these  plants,  coming  in  contact  with 
the  sand,  united  with  its  particles,  and,  by  the  influ¬ 
ence  of  the  heat,  produced  glass. 

26.  This  production  was  accidentally  picked  up  by 
a  Tyrian  merchant,  who,  from  its  beauty  and  proba¬ 
ble  utility,  was  led  to  investigate  the  causes  of  its  for¬ 
mation,  and  who,  after  many  attempts,  succeeded  in 
the  manufacture  of  glass.  The  legend  probably  ori¬ 
ginated  in  the  fact,  that  glass  was  very  anciently  made 
at  Tyre ;  and  that  the  sand  on  the  seashore  in  the 
immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  Belus,  was  well  adapt¬ 
ed  to  glass-making. 

27.  It  is  certainly  probable,  that  an  accidental  vit¬ 
rification  might  have  given  rise  to  the  discovery ;  but 
the  circumstance  would  have  been  more  likely  to  take 
place  in  some  operation  requiring  greater  heat  than 
that  necessary  for  dressing  food  in  the  open  air.  The 
invention  of  glass  must  have  been  effected  as  early  as 
fifteen  hundred  years  before  our  era.  It  was  manu¬ 
factured  very  anciently  in  Egypt ;  but  whether  that 
country  or  Phoenicia  is  entitled  to  the  preference,  as 
regards  priority  in  the  practice  of  this  art,  cannot  be 
determined. 

28.  Glass  was  made  in  considerable  perfection  at 
Alexandria,  and  was  thence  supplied  to  the  Romans 
as  late  as  the  first  quarter  of  the  second  century. 
Before  this  time,  however,  Rome  had  her  glass  man¬ 
ufactories,  to  which  a  particular  street  was  assigned.’ 
The  attention  of  the  workmen  was  directed  chiefly  to 
the  production  of  bottles  and  ornamental  vases,  speci¬ 
mens  of  which  still  remain,  as  monuments  of  their  ex¬ 
traordinary  skill. 

29.  In  modern  times,  the  manufacture  of  glass  was 

Q  2 


186 


THE  GLASS-BLOWER. 


confined  principally  to  Italy  and  Germany.  Venice 
became  particularly  celebrated  for  the  beauty  of  the 
material,  and  the  skill  of  its  workmen  ;  and  as  early 
as  the  thirteenth  century,  it  supplied  the  greatest  part 
of  the  glass  used  in  Europe.  The  artists  of  Bohe¬ 
mia,  also,  came  to  be  held  in  considerable  reputation. 

30.  The  art  was  first  practised  in  England,  in  the 
year  1557,  when  a  manufactory  was  erected  at 
Crutched  Friars,  in  the  city  of  London,  and  shortly 
afterwards,  another  at  the  Savoy,  in  the  Strand.  In 
these  establishments,  however,  were  made  little  else 
than  common  window  glass,  and  coarse  bottles,  all 
the  finer  articles  being  still  imported  from  Venice. 
In  1673,  the  celebrated  Duke  of  Buckingham  brought 
workmen  from  Italy,  and  established  a  manufactory 
for  casting  plate  glass  for  mirrors  and  coach  win¬ 
dows.  The  art,  in  all  its  branches,  is  now  extensively 
practised  in  great  perfection,  not  only  in  Great  Brit¬ 
ain,  but  in  many  of  the  other  kingdoms  of  Europe. 

31.  Before  the  commencement  of  the  late  war  with 
England,  very  little,  if  any,  glass  was  manufactured 
in  the  United  States,  except  the  most  common  win¬ 
dow  glass,  and  the  most  ordinary  kinds  of  hollow 
ware.  Apothecaries’  vials  and  bottles,  as  well  as 
every  other  variety  of  the  better  kinds  of  glass  wares, 
had  been  imported  from  Europe,  and  chiefly  from 
England. 

32.  Our  necessities,  created  by  the  event  just  men¬ 
tioned,  produced  several  manufactories,  which,  how¬ 
ever,  did  not  soon  become  flourishing,  owing,  at  first, 
to  inexperience,  and,  after  the  peace,  to  excessive 
importations.  But  adequate  protection  having  been 
extended  to  this  branch  of  our  national  industry,  by 
the  tariff  of  1828,  it  is  now  in  a  highly  prosperous 
condition — so  much  so,  that  importations  of  glass 
ware  have  nearly  ceased. 


THE  OPTICIAN. 

1.  The  word  optician  is  applicable  to  persons  who 
are  particularly  skilled  in  the  science  of  vision,  but 
especially  to  those  who  devote  their  attention  to  the 
manufacture  of  optical  instruments,  such  as  the  spec¬ 
tacles,  the  camera  obstura,  the  magic  lantern,  the 
telescope,  the  microscope,  and  the  quadrant. 

2.  Light  is  an  emanation  from  the  sun  and  other 
luminous  bodies,  and  is  that  substance  which  renders 
opaque  bodies  visible  to  the  eye.  It  diverges  in  a  di¬ 
rect  line,  unless  interrupted  by  some  obstacle,  and  its 
motion  has  been  estimated  at  two  hundred  thousand 
miles  in  a  second. 

3.  A  ray  of  light  is  the  motion  of  a  single  particle  ; 
and  a  parcel  of  rays  passing  from  a,  single  point,  is 
called  a  pencil  of  rays.  Parallel  rays  are  such  as  al¬ 
ways  move  at  the  same  distance  from  each  other. 


188 


THE  OPTICIAN. 


Rays  which  continually  approach  each  other,  are  said 
to  converge ;  and  when  they  continually  recede  from 
each  other,  they  are  said  to  diverge.  The  point  at 
which  converging  rays  meet  is  called  th e  focus. 

4.  Any  pellucid  or  transparent  body,  as  air,  water, 
and  glass,  which  admits  the  free  passage  of  light,  is 
called  a  medium.  When  rays,  after  having  passed 
through  one  medium,  are  bent  out  of  their  original 
course  by  entering  another  of  different  density,  they 
are  said  to  be  refracted ;  and  when  they  strike  against 
a  surface,  and  are  sent  back  from  it,  they  are  said  to 
be  refected. 

5.  A  lens  is  glass  ground  in  such  a  form  as  to  col¬ 
lect  or  disperse  the  rays  of  light  which  pass  through 
it.  These  are  of  different  shapes  ;  and  they  have, 
therefore,  received  different  appellations.  A  plano¬ 
convex  lens  has  one  side  flat,  and  the  other  convex ; 
a  plano-concave  lens  is  flat  on  one  side,  and  concave 
on  the  other ;  a  double  convex  lens  is  convex  on  both 
sides  ;  a  double  concave  lens  is  concave  on  both  sides ; 
a  meniscus  is  convex  on  one  side,  and  concave  on  the 
other.  By  the  following  cut,  the  lenses  are  exhibited 
in  the  order  in  which  they  have  been  mentioned. 


6.  An  incident  ray  is  that  which  comes  from  any 
luminous  body  to  a  reflecting  surface ;  and  that  which 
is  sent  back  from  a  reflecting  surface,  is  called  a  re¬ 
flected  ray.  The  angle  of  incidence  is  the  angle  which 
is  formed  by  the  incident  ray  with  a  perpendicular  to 
the  reflecting  surface  ;  and  the  angle  of  refection  is 
the  angle  formed  by  the  same  perpendicular  and  the 
reflected  ray. 


TIIE  OPTICIAN. 


189 


7.  When  the  light  proceeding  from  every  point  of 
an  object  placed  before  a  lens  is  collected  in  corre¬ 
sponding  points  behind  it,  a  perfect  image  of  the  ob¬ 
ject  is  there  produced.  The  following  cut  is  given 
by  way  of  illustration. 


8.  The  lens,  a ,  may  be  supposed  to  be  placed  in 
the  hole  of  a  window-shutter  of  a  darkened  room,  and 
the  arrow  at  the  right  to  be  standing  at  some  distance 
without.  All  the  light  reflected  from  the  latter  ob¬ 
ject  towards  the  lens,  passes  through  it,  and  concen¬ 
trates,  within  the  room,  in  a  focal  point,  at  which, 
if  a  sheet  of  paper,  or  any  other  plane  of  a  similar 
color,  is  placed,  the  image  of  the  object  will  be  seen 
upon  it. 

9.  This  phenomenon  is  called  the  camera  obscura , 
or  dark  chamber,  because  it  is  necessary  to  darken 
the  room  to  exhibit  it.  The  image  at  the  focal  point 
within  the  room  is  in  an  inverted  position.  The  rea¬ 
son  why  it  is  thrown  in  this  manner  will  be  readily 
understood  by  observing  the  direction  of  the  reflect¬ 
ed  rays,  as  they  pass  from  the  object  through  the 
lens.  In  the  camera  obscura,  it  is  customary  to  place 
a  small  mirror  immediately  behind  the  lens,  so  as  to 
throw  all  the  light  which  enters,  downwards  upon  a 
whitened  table,  where  the  picture  may  be  convenient¬ 
ly  contemplated. 

10.  From  the  preceding  explanation  of  the  came¬ 
ra  obscura,  the  theory  of  vision  may  be  readily  com¬ 
prehended,  since  the  eye  itself  is  a  perfect  instrument 
of  this  kind.  A  careful  examination  of  the  following 


190 


THE  OPTICIAN. 


representation  of  the  eye  will  render  the  similarity 
obvious.  The  eye  is  supposed  to  be  cut  through  the 
middle,  from  above  downwards. 


a  a,  the  sclerotica ;  b  b,  the  choroides  ;  c  c,  the  retina ;  d  d,  the  cor¬ 
nea  ;  e,  the  pupil  ;  f  f,  the  iris ;  g,  the  aqueous  humor  ;  h ,  the  crystal¬ 
line  humor  ;  i  i,  the  vitreous  humor. 

11.  The  sclerotica  is  a  membranous  coat,  to  which 
the  muscles  are  attached  which  move  the  eye.  The 
cornea  is  united  to  the  sclerotica  around  the  circular 
opening  of  the  latter,  and  is  that  convex  part  of  the 
eye,  which  projects  in  advance  of  the  rest  of  the  or¬ 
gan.  The  space  between  this  and  the  crystalline 
lens  is  occupied  by  the  aqueous  humor  and  the  iris. 
The  iris  is  united  to  the  choroides,  and  it  possesses 
the  power  of  expanding  and  contracting,  to  admit  a 
greater  or  less  number  of  rays. 

12.  The  crystalline  lens  is  a  small  body  of  a  crys¬ 
talline  appearance  and  lenticular  shape,  whence  its 
name.  It  is  situated  between  the  aqueous  and  vitre¬ 
ous  humors,  and  consists  of  a  membranous  sack  filled 
with  a  humor  of  a  crystalline  appearance.  The  vit¬ 
reous  humor  has  been  thus  denominated  on  account 
of  its  resemblance  to  glass  in  a  state  of  fusion.  The 
retina  is  a  membrane  which  lines  the  whole  cavity  of 
the  eye,  and  is  formed  chiefly,  if  not  entirely,  by  the 
expansion  of  the  optic  nerve. 

13.  The  rays  of  light  which  proceed  from  objects 
pass  through  the  cornea,  aqueous  humor,  crystalline 
lens,  and  vitreous  humor,  and  fall  upon  the  retina  in 
a  focal  point,  to  which  it  is  brought,  chiefly  by  the  in- 


THE  OPTICIAN. 


391 


fluence  of  the  cornea  and  the  crystalline  lens.  The 
image,  in  an  inverted  position,  is  painted  or  thrown 
on  the  cornea,  which  perceives  its  presence,  and  con¬ 
veys  an  impression  of  it  to  the  brain,  by  means  of  the 
optic  nerve. 

14.  Optical  instruments. — The  art  of  constructing 
optical  instruments  is  founded  upon  the  anatomical 
structure,  and  physiological  action  of  the  eye,  and  on 
the  laws  of  light.  They  are  designed  to  increase  the 
powers  of  the  eye,  or  to  remedy  some  defect  in  its 
structure.  In  the  cursory  view  which  we  may  give 
of  a  few  of  the  many  optical  instruments  which  have 
been  invented,  we  will  begin  with  the  spectacles , 
since  they  are  the  best  known,  and  withal  the  most 
simple. 

15.  The  visual  point ,  or  the  distance  at  which  small 
objects  can  be  distinctly  seen,  varies  in  different  indi¬ 
viduals.  As  an  average,  it  may  be  assumed  at  eight 
or  nine  inches  from  the  eye.  In  some  persons,  it  is 
much  nearer,  and  in  others,  considerably  more  dis¬ 
tant.  The  extreme,  in  the  former  case,  constitutes 
myopy ,  or  short-sightedness ,  and,  in  the  latter  case, 
presbyopy,  or  long-sightedness . 

16.  Myopy  is  chiefly  caused  by  too  great  a  convex¬ 
ity  of  the  cornea  and  the  crystalline  lens,  which  caus¬ 
es  the  rays  to  converge  to  a  focus,  before  they  reach 
the  retina.  Objects  are,  therefore,  indistinctly  seen  by 
myoptic  persons,  unless  held  very  near  the  eye  to 
throw  the  focus  farther  back.  This  defect  may  be 
palliated  by  the  use  of  concave  glasses,  which  render 
the  rays  proceeding  from  objects  more  divergent. 

17.  Presbyopy  is  principally  caused  by  too  little 
convexity  of  the  cornea  and  crystalline  lens,  which 
throws  the  focal  point  of  rays  reflected  from  near  ob¬ 
jects,  beyond  the  retina.  This  defect  is  experienced 
by  most  people,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  after  they 
have  advanced  beyond  the  fortieth  year,  and  occa- 


192 


THE  OPTICIAN. 


sionally  even  by  youth.  A  remedy,  or,  at  least,  a 
palliation,  is  found  in  the  use  of  convex  glasses,  which 
render  the  rays  more  convergent,  and  enable  the  eye 
to  refract  them  to  a  focus  farther  forward,  at  the  prop¬ 
er  point. 

18.  The  opticians  have  their  spectacles  numbered, 
to  suit  different  periods  of  life ;  but,  as  the  short¬ 
sighted  and  long-sighted  conditions  exist  in  a  thousand 
different  degrees,  each  person  should  select  for  him¬ 
self  such  as  will  enable  him  to  read  without  effort  at 
the  usual  distance. 

19.  The  great  obstacle  to  viewing  small  objects  at 
the  usual  distance,  arises  from  too  great  a  divergence 
of  the  light  reflected  from  them,  which  causes  the 
rays  to  reach  the  retina  before  they  have  convened  to 
a  focus.  This  defect  is  remedied  by  convex  lenses, 
which  bring  the  visual  point  nearer  to  the  eye,  and 
consequently  cause  the  rays  to  concentrate  in  a  large 
focus  upon  the  retina.  The  most  powerful  microsco¬ 
pic  lenses  are  small  globules  of  glass,  which  permit 
the  eye  to  be  brought  very  near  to  the  object. 

20.  Microscopes  are  either  single  or  double.  In 
the  former  case,  but  one  lens  is  used,  and  through 
this  the  object  is  viewed  directly ;  but,  in  the  latter 
case,  two  or  more  glasses  are  employed,  through  one 
of  which  a  magnified  image  is  thrown  upon  a  reflect¬ 
ing  surface,  and  this  is  viewed  through  the  other  glass, 
or  glasses,  as  the  real  object  is  seen  through  a  single 
microscope. 

21.  The  solar  microscope ,  on  account  of  its  great 
magnifying  powers,  is  the  most  wonderful  instrument 
of  this  kind.  The  principles  of  its  construction  are 
the  same  with  those  of  the  camera  obscura.  The  dif¬ 
ference  consists  chiefly  in  the  minor  circumstance  of 
placing  the  object  very  near  the  lens,  by  which  a  mag¬ 
nified  image  is  thrown  at  the  focal  point  within  the 
room. 


THE  OPTICIAN. 


193 


22.  In  the  case  of  the  camera  obscura,  the  objects 
are  at  a  far  greater  distance  from  the  glass  on  the  out¬ 
side  than  the  images,  at  the  focal  point,  on  the  inside. 
The  comparatively  great  distance  of  the  object,  in 
this  case,  causes  the  image  to  be  proportionably 
smaller.  In  the  solar  microscope,  a  small  mirror  is 
used  to  receive  the  rays,  and  to  reflect  them  directly 
upon  the  object. 

23.  The  magic  lantern  is  an  instrument  used  for 
magnifying  paintings  on  glass,  and  for  throwing  their 
images  upon  a  white  surface  in  a  darkened  room. 
Its  general  construction  is  the  same  with  that  of  the 
solar  microscope  ;  but,  in  the  application,  the  light  of 
a  lamp  is  employed  instead  of  that  from  the  sun. 

24.  Telescopes  are  employed  for  viewing  objects 
which  from  their  distances  appear  small,  or  are  invis¬ 
ible  to  the  naked  eye.  They  are  of  two  kinds,  re¬ 
fracting  and  refecting.  The  former  kind  is  a  com¬ 
pound  of  the  camera  obscura  and  the  single  micro¬ 
scope.  It  consists  of  a  tube,  having  at  the  further  end 
a  double  convex  lens,  which  concentrates  the  rays 
at  a  focal  point  within,  where  the  image  is  viewed 
through  a  microscopic  lens,  placed  at  the  other  end. 

25.  In  the  construction  of  reflecting  telescopes, 
concave  mirrors,  or  specula,  are  combined  with  a 
double  convex  lens.  A  large  mirror  of  this  kind  is 
so  placed  in  the  tube,  that  it  receives  the  rays  of  light 
from  objects,  and  reflects  them  upon  another  of  a 
smaller  size.  From  this  they  are  thrown  to  a  focal 
point,  where  the  image  is  viewed  through  a  double 
convex  lens.  The  specula  are  made  of  speculum 
metal,  which  is  a  composition  of  certain  proportions 
of  copper  and  tin. 

26.  Many  optical  appearances  are  of  such  frequent 
recurrence,  that  they  could  not  have  escaped  the  ear¬ 
liest  observers  ;  nevertheless,  ages  appear  to  have 
elapsed,  before  any  progress  was  made  towards  an 

II. — R 


194 


THE  OPTICIAN. 


explanation  of  them.  Empedocles,  a  Greek  philoso¬ 
pher,  born  at  Agrigentum  in  Sicily,  460  years  before  * 
Christ,  is  the  first  person  on  record  who  attempted  to 
write  systematically  on  light. 

27.  The  subject  was  successively  treated  by  several 
other  philosophers ;  but  the  ancients  never  attained 
to  a  high  degree  of  information  upon  it.  We  have 
reason  to  believe,  however,  that  convex  lenses  were, 
in  some  cases,  used  as  magnifiers,  and  as  burning 
glasses,  although  the  theory  of  their  refractive  power 
was  not  understood. 

28.  The  magnifying  power  of  glasses,  and  some 
other  optical  phenomena,  were  largely  treated  by  A1 
Hazen,  an  Arabian  philosopher,  who  flourished  about 
the  year  1100  of  our  era  ;  and,  in  1270,  Vitellio,  a 
Polander,  published  a  treatise  on  optics,  containing  all 
that  was  valuable  in  A1  Hazen’s  work,  digested  in  a 
better  manner,  and  with  more  lucid  explanations  of 
various  phenomena. 

29.  Roger  Bacon,  an  English  monk,  who  was  bom 
in  1214,  and  who  lived  to  the  age  of  seventy-eight, 
described  very  accurately  the  effects  of  convex  and 
concave  lenses,  and  demonstrated,  by  actual  experi¬ 
ment,  that  a  small  segment  of  a  glass  globe  would 
greatly  assist  the  sight  of  old  persons.  Concerning 
the  actual  inventor  of  spectacles,  however,  we  have 
no  certain  information  ;  we  only  know  that  these 
useful  instruments  were  generally  known  in  Europe, 
about  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century. 

30.  In  the  year  1575,  Maurolicus,  a  teacher  of 
mathematics,  at  Messina,  published  a  treatise  on  op¬ 
tics,  in  which  he  demonstrated  that  the  crystalline  hu¬ 
mor  of  the  eye  is  a  lens,  which  collects  the  rays  of 
light  from  external  objects,  and  throws  them  upon  the 
retina.  Having  arrived  at  a  knowledge  of  these  facts, 
he  was  enabled  to  assign  the  reasons  why  some' peo¬ 
ple  were  short-sighted,  and  others  long-sighted. 


THE  OPTICIAN. 


195 


31.  John  Baptista  Porta,  of  Naples,  was  contem¬ 
porary  with  Maurolicus.  He  invented  the  camera  ob- 
scura,  and  his  experiments  with  this  instrument  con¬ 
vinced  him,  that  light  was  a  substance,  and  that  its  re¬ 
ception  into  the  eye  produced  vision.  These  discov¬ 
eries  corresponded  very  nearly  with  those  by  Maurol¬ 
icus,  although  neither  of  these  philosophers  had  any 
knowledge  of  what  the  other  had  done.  The  impor¬ 
tance  of  Porta’s  discoveries  will  be  evident,  when  it  is 
observed,  that,  before  his  time,  vision  was  supposed  to 
be  dependent  on  what  were  termed  visual  rays ,  pro¬ 
ceeding  from  the  eye. 

32.  The  telescope  was  invented  towards  the  latter 
end  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Of  this,  as  of  many 
other  valuable  inventions,  accident  furnished  the  first 
hint.  It  is  said,  that  the  children  of  Zacharias  Jansen, 
a  spectacle-maker,  of  Middleburg  in  Holland,  while 
playing  with  spectacle-glasses  in  their  father’s  shop, 
perceived  that,  when  the  glasses  were  held  at  a  certain 
distance  from  each  other,  the  dial  of  the  clock  ap¬ 
peared  greatly  magnified,  but  in  an  inverted  position. 

33.  This  incident  suggested  to  their  father  the  idea 
of  adjusting  two  of  these  glasses  on  a  board,  so  as  to 
move  them  at  pleasure.  Two  such  glasses  inclosed 
in  a  tube  completed  the  invention  of  the  simplest  kind 
of  the  refracting  telescope.  Galileo  greatly  improved 
the  telescope,  and  constructed  one  that  magnified 
thirty-three  times,  and  with  this  he  made  the  astro¬ 
nomical  discoveries  which  have  immortalized  his 
name. 

34.  John  Kepler,  a  great  mathematician  and  astron¬ 
omer,  who  was  born  at  Weir,  in  Wurtemburg,  in  the 
year  1571,  paid  great  attention  to  the  phenomena  of 
light  and  vision.  He  was  the  first  who  demonstrated 
that  the  degree  of  refraction  suffered  by  light  in  pass¬ 
ing  through  lenses,  corresponds  with  the  diameter  of 
the  circle  of  which  the  concavity  or  convexity  is  the 


196 


THE  OPTICIAN. 


portion  of  an  arch.  He  very  successfully  pursued  the 
discoveries  of  Maurolicus  and  Porta,  and  asserted 
that  the  images  of  external  objects  v/ere  formed  upon 
the  optic  nerve  by  the  concentration  of  rays  which 
proceed  from  them. 

35.  In  1625,  the  curious  discovery  of  Scheiner  was 
published,  at  Rome,  which  placed  beyond  doubt  the 
fact,  that  vision  depends  upon  the  formation  of  the 
image  of  objects  upon  the  retina.  The  fact  was  dem¬ 
onstrated  by  cutting  away,  at  the  back  part,  the  two 
outside  coats  of  the  eye  of  an  animal,  and  by  present¬ 
ing  different  objects  before  it.  The  images  were  dis¬ 
tinctly  seen  painted  on  the  naked  retina. 

36.  Near  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
the  velocity  of  light  was  discovered  by  Roemer ;  and, 
in  1663,  James  Gregory,  a  celebrated  Scotch  mathe¬ 
matician,  published  the  first  proposal  for  a  reflecting 
telescope.  But,  as  he  possessed  no  mechanical  dex¬ 
terity  himself,  and  as  he  could  find  no  workman  capa¬ 
ble  of  executing  his  designs,  he  never  succeeded  in 
carrying  his  conceptions  into  effect.  This  was  reserv¬ 
ed  for  Sir  Isaac  Newton ;  who,  being  remarkable  for 
manual  skill,  executed  two  instruments  of  this  kind,  in 
the  year  1672,  on  a  plan,  however,  somewhat  different 
from  that  proposed  by  Gregory. 

37.  In  the  course  of  the  year  1666,  the  attention 
of  Sir  Isaac  Newton  was  drawn  to  the  phenomena  of 
the  refraction  of  light'  through  the  prism  ;  and,  having 
observed  a  certain  surprising  fact,  he  instituted  a  va¬ 
riety  of  experiments,  by  which  he  was  brought  to  the 
conclusion,  that  light  was  not  a  homogeneous  sub¬ 
stance,  but  that  it  is  composed  of  particles,  which  are 
capable  of  different  degrees  of  refrangibility. 

38.  By  the  same  experiments,  he  also  proved,  that 
the  rays  or  particles  of  light  differ  from  each  other  in 
exhibiting  different  colors,  some  producing  the  color 
red,  others  that  of  yellow,  blue,  &c.  He  applied  his 


THE  OPTICIAN. 


197 


principles  to  the  explanation  of  most  of  the  phenomena 
of  nature,  where  light  and  color  are  concerned  ;  and 
almost  every  thing  which  we  know  upon  these  sub¬ 
jects,  was  laid  open  by  his  experiments. 

39.  The  splendor  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton’s  discoveries 
obscures,  in  some  measure,  the  merits  of  earlier  and 
subsequent  philosophers ;  yet  several  interesting  dis¬ 
coveries  in  regard  to  light  and  color,  as  well  as  many 
important  improvements  of  optical  instruments,  have 
been  made  since  his  time,  although  the  light  by  which 
these  have  been  achieved,  was  derived  principally  from 
his  labors. 


R  2 


v 


THE  GOLD-BEATER,  AND  THE  JEWELLER. 


GOLD. 

1.  The  metals  most  extensively  employed  in  the  arts 
are  gold,  silver,  copper,  lead,  tin,  and  iron.  These 
are  sometimes  found  uncombined  with  any  other  sub- 
stance,  or  combined  only  with  each  other ;  in  either 
of  these  cases,  they  are  said  to  be  in  a  native  state. 
But  they  are  more  frequently  found  united  with  some 
substances  which,  in  a  great  measure,  disguise  their 
metallic  qualities,  or,  in  other  words,  in  a  state  of  ore . 
The  mode  of  separating  the  metals  from  their  ores, 
will  be  noticed  in  connexion  with  some  of  the  trades 
in  which  they  are  prepared  for,  or  practically  applied 
in,  the  arts. 

2.  Gold  is  a  metal  of  a  yellow  color,  a  characteris¬ 
tic  by  which  it  is  distinguished  from  all  other  simple 


GOLD. 


199 


metallic  bodies.  As  a  representative  of  property,  it 
has  been  used  from  time  immemorial ;  and,  before 
coinage  was  invented,  it  passed  for  money  in  its  native 
state.  In  this  form,  gold  is  still  current  in  some  parts 
of  Africa ;  and  even  in  the  Southern  states  of  our 
own  country,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  gold  mines,  the 
same  practice,  in  a  measure,  prevails. 

3.  Gold  is  rarely  employed  in  a  state  of  perfect 
purity,  but  is  generally  used  in  combination  with  some 
other  metal,  which  renders  it  harder,  and  consequently 
more  capable  of  enduring  the  friction  to  which  it  is 
exposed.  The  metal  used  for  this  purpose  is  called 
an  alloy,  and  generally  consists  of  silver  or  copper. 

4.  For  convenience  in  commerce,  this  precious 
metal  is  supposed  to  be  divided  into  twenty-four  equal 
parts,  called  carats.  If  perfectly  pure,  it  is  denomi¬ 
nated  gold  24  carats  fine ;  if  alloyed  with  one  part  of 
any  other  metal  or  mixture  of  metals,  it  is  said  to  be 
23  carats  fine.  The  standard  gold  coin  of  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain  is  22  carats  fine ;  or,  in 
other  words,  it  contains  one-twelfth  part  of  alloy. 
Gold,  made  standard  by  equal  parts  of  copper  and 
silver,  approaches  in  color  more  nearly  to  pure  gold 
than  when  alloyed  in  any  other  manner. 

5.  Gold  is  found  in  veins  in  mountains,  most  usu¬ 
ally  associated  with  ores  of  silver,  sulphurets  of  iron, 
copper,  lead,  and  other  metals.  It  is  often  so  minute¬ 
ly  distributed,  that  its  presence  is  detected  only  by 
pounding  and  washing  the  ores  in  which  it  exists. 
But  the  greatest  part  of  the  gold  in  the  possession  of 
mankind,  has  been  found  in  the  form  of  grains  and 
small  detached  masses,  amid  the  sands  of  rivers  and 
in  alluvial  lands,  where  it  had  been  deposited  by  means 
of  water,  which  had  detached  it  from  its  original  posi¬ 
tion  in  the  mountains. 

6.  To  separate  or  extract  gold  from  the  foreign 
matters  with  which  it  may  be  combined,  the  whole  is 


200 


GOLD. 


first  pounded  fine,  and  then  washed  by  putting  it  in  a 
stream  of  water,  which  carries  off  the  stony  particles, 
while  the  gold,  by  its  specific  gravity,  sinks  to  the 
bottom.  To  render  the  separation  still  more  perfect, 
this  sediment  is  mixed  with  ten  times  its  weight  of 
quicksilver,  and  put  into  a  leather  bag,  in  which  it  is 
submitted  to  a  pressure  that  forces  the  fluid  part 
through  its  pores ;  while  the  more  solid  part  of  the 
amalgam,  which  contains  most  of  the  gold,  remains. 

7.  To  separate  the  quicksilver  from  the  gold,  the 
mass  is  subjected  to  the  process  of  sublimation  in 
earthen  retorts,  which,  as  applied  to  metals,  is  similar 
in  its  effects  to  distillation,  as  applied  to  liquids.  When 
gold  is  contained  in  the  ores  of  other  metals,  they  are 
roasted,  in  order  to  drive  off  the  volatile  parts,  and  to 
oxydize  the  other  metals.  The  gold  is  then  extracted 
by  amalgamation,  by  liquefaction  with  lead,  by  the  aid 
of  nitric  acid,  or  by  other  methods  adapted  to  the  na¬ 
ture  of  the  ore. 

8.  Gold  obtained  in  any  of  these  methods  is  always 
more  or  less  alloyed  with  some  other  metal,  especially 
with  silver  or  copper ;  but  a  separation  is  produced, 
so  far  as  it  is  required  for  the  purposes  of  commerce, 
by  two  processes,  one  of  which  is  called  cupellation, 
and  the  other  parting .  The  former  of  these  opera¬ 
tions  consists  in  melting  the  gold  with  a  quantity  of 
lead,  which  readily  oxydizes  and  vitrifies,  and  which 
causes  the  same  changes  to  take  place  in  the  metal  to 
be  detached  from  the  mass  of  gold.  The  operation  is 
called  cupellation,  because  it  is  usually  performed  on 
a  cupel,  a  vessel  formed  of  bone-ashes,  or  sometimes 
of  wood-ashes. 

9.  Cupellation  is  effectual  in  removing  copper,  but 
not  so  with  regard  to  silver ;  the  latter  is  separated 
by  means  of  a  process  called  parting.  The  metal  is 
rolled  out  into  thin  sheets  or  strips,  and  cut  into  small 
pieces.  These  are  put  into  diluted  nitric  acid,  which, 


THE  GOLD-BEATER. 


201 


by  the  aid  of  a  moderate  heat,  dissolves,  the  silver, 
leaving  the  gold  in  a  porous  state. 

10.  Another  process,  called  cementation,  is  also 
sometimes  used.  It  is  performed  by  beating  the  al¬ 
loyed  metal  into  thin  plates,  and  arranging  them  in 
alternate  layers  with  a  cement  containing  nitrate  of 
potash,  and  sulphate  of  iron.  The  whole  is  then  ex¬ 
posed  to  heat,  until  a  great  part  of  the  baser  metals 
has  been  removed  by  the  action  of  the  nitric  acid  lib¬ 
erated  by  the  nitre.  Cementation  is  often  employed 
by  goldsmiths,  to  refine  the  surface  of  articles  in  which 
the  gold  has  been  combined,  in  too  small  a  proportion, 
with  metals  of  less  value. 

11.  The  average  amount  of  gold  annually  obtained 
in  every  part  of  the  globe  cannot  fall  far  short  of 
twenty-millions  of  dollars  in  value,  of  which  South 
America  supplies  about  one  half,  and  Europe,  about 
one  twenty-fifth  part.  The  amount  yielded  by  the 
Southern  states  of  our  Union,  cannot  be  accurately 
ascertained,  but  the  whole  sum  coined  at  the  United 
States’  Mint  in  1834,  from  gold  obtained  in  this  quar¬ 
ter,  amounted  to  $898,000,  and  since  1824  to  that 
time,  to  $3,679,000.  In  1824,  the  sum  was  but 
$5000.  Our  Southern  mines  will  probably  continue 
to  increase  in  productiveness. 

THE  GOLD-BEATER. 

1.  Gold,  not  being  subject  to  intrinsic  change  by 
atmospheric  action,  or  by  that  of  common  chemical 
agents,  is  extensively  used  in  gilding  various  substan¬ 
ces,  either  with  the  view  of  preserving  them  from  de¬ 
cay,  or  for  the  purpose  of  embellishment.  To  prepare 
the  gold  for  application  in  this  manner  is  the  business 
of  the  gold-beater. 

2.  The  metal  is  first  melted  with  some  borax  in  a 
crucible,  and  formed  into  an  ingot  by  pouring  it  into 
an  iron  mould.  The  mass  is  next  hammered  a  little 


202  THE  GOLD-BEATER. 

on  an  anvil,  to  increase  the  cohesion  of  its  parts,  and 
afterwards  repeatedly  passed  between  steel  rollers, 
until  it  has  become  a  riband  as  thin  as  paper. 

3.  Two  ounces  and  a  half  of  this  riband  are  cut 
into  150  pieces  of  equal  dimensions.  These  are  ham¬ 
mered  a  little  to  make  them  smooth,  and  then  interlaid 
with  pieces  of  fine  vellum  four  inches  square.  The 
whole,  with  twenty  other  pieces  of  vellum  on  each  side, 
is  inclosed  in  two  cases  of  parchment.  The  packet 
is  then  beaten  on  a  marble  anvil  with  a  hammer  weigh¬ 
ing  sixteen  pounds,  until  the  gold  has  been  spread  to 
near  the  size  of  the  vellum  leaves,  it,  in  the  mean 
vime,  being  often  turned  over. 

4.  The  gold  leaves  are  next  divided  into  four  equal 
squares,  with  a  steel  knife  on  a  leather  cushion ;  and 
the  600  leaves  thus  produced,  are  interlaid  with  a  kind 
of  leather  or  parchment  made  of  the  intestines  of  the 
ox,  and  beaten  with  a  hammer  weighing  twelve  pounds, 
until  the  leaves  have  been  extended  as  before.  They 
are  again  quartered  and  interlaid,  and  beaten  with  a 
hammer  weighing  six  or  eight  pounds. 

5.  The  gold  having  now  been  sufficiently  extended, 
the  packets  are  taken  apart,  and  the  leaves  cut  to  a 
proper  and  uniform  size,  by  means  of  a  cane  frame 
on  a  leather  cushion.  The  leaves,  as  fast  as  they  are 
trimmed,  are  placed  in  a  book,  the  paper  of  which  has 
been  covered  with  red  bole,  to  prevent  the  gold  from 
sticking.  Of  the  two  ounces  and  a  half  of  gold  thus 
treated,  only  about  one  ounce  remains  in  perfect 
leaves,  which,  altogether,  amount  to  2000  three  inches 
and  three-eighths  square.  The  books  contain  twenty- 
five  leaves,  so  that  one  ounce  of  gold  makes  eighty 
books. 

6.  Gold  extended  into  leaves,  is  alloyed,  in  a  greater 
or  less  degree,  with  silver  or  copper,  or  both,  because, 
in  a  pure  state,  it  would  be  too  ductile.  The  newest 
skins  will  work  the  purest  gold,  and  make  the  thinnest 


THE  G  0  L  D-B  EATER.  203 

leaf,  because  they  are  the  smoothest.  The  alloy  va¬ 
ries  from  three  to  twenty-four  grains  to  the  ounce,  but 
in  general  it  is  six,  or  one  part  of  alloy  to  eighty  of 
gold. 

7.  A  kind  of  leaf  called  party  gold ,  is  formed  by  the 
union  of  a  thin  leaf  of  gold  and  a  thicker  one  of  silver. 
The  two  are  laid  together,  and  afterwards  heated  and 
pressed,  until  they  have  cohered.  They  are  then 
beaten  and  otherwise  treated,  as  in  the  process  just 
described.  Silver,  and  likewise  copper,  are  also  beat¬ 
en  into  leaves,  although  they  will  by  no  means  bear 
so  great  a  reduction  as  gold.  Considerable  quantities 
of  copper  leaf  are  brought  from  Holland,  which  in 
commerce  is  known  by  the  denomination  of  “Dutch 
leaf,”  or  “  Dutch  gold.” 

8.  The  ancient  Romans  were  not  ignorant  of  the 
process  of  gold-beating,  although  they  did  not  carry  it 
so  far  as  we  do.  Pliny  informs  us  that  they  some¬ 
times  made  750  leaves  four  fingers  square,  from  an 
ounce  of  gold.  At  Praeneste  was  a  statue  of  For¬ 
tune,  gilt  with  leaves  of  a  certain  thickness ;  hence 
those  beaten  to  the  same  degree  of  thickness  were 
called  Prcenestines.  Those  of  another  and  less  de¬ 
gree  of  thickness,  were  called  qucestoriales ,  for  a  simi¬ 
lar  reason. 

9.  The  Romans  began  to  gild  the  interior  of  their 
houses  immediately  after  the  destruction  of  Carthage. 
The  wainscots  of  the  Capitol  were  first  ornamented 
in  this  manner ;  and  afterwards  it  became  fashionable 
to  gild  the  walls  and  ceilings  of  private  dwellings,  as 
well  as  articles  of  furniture. 

10.  Gold  wire. — The  ductility  of  gold  is  more  con¬ 
spicuous  in  wire  than  in  leaves.  The  wire  thus  de¬ 
nominated,  is  in  reality  silver  wire  covered  with  gold. 
It  is  formed  by  covering  a  silver  rod  with  thick  leaves 
of  gold,  and  then  drawing  it  successively  through  coni¬ 
cal  holes  of  different  sizes,  made  in  plates  of  steel. 


204 


THE  JEWELLER. 


The  wire  may  be  reduced,  in  this  manner,  to  a  de¬ 
gree  of  extreme  fineness,  the  gold  being  drawn  out 
with  the  silver,  and  constituting  for  it  a  perfect  coating. 

11.  Wire  thus  formed  is  often  used  in  the  manu¬ 
facture  of  gold  thread.  Before  it  is  applied  in  this 
way,  it  is  flattened  between  rollers  of  polished  steel, 
and  then  wound  on  yellow  silk  by  machinery.  The 
coating  of  gold  on  the  silver  wire  employed  in  this 
way,  does  not  exceed  the  millionth  part  of  an  inch  in 
thickness. 

THE  JEWELLER. 

1.  The  jeweller  makes  rings,  lockets,  bracelets, 
brooches,  ear-rings,  necklaces,  watch-chains,  and  trin¬ 
kets  of  like  nature.  The  materials  of  the  best  qual¬ 
ity  of  these  ornaments  are  gold,  pearls,  and  precious 
stones,  although  those  of  an  inferior  kind  are  often 
used. 

2.  There  are  several  stones  to  which  is  applied  the 
epithet  precious ,  of  which  the  following  are  the  princi¬ 
pal  :  the  diamond,  the  ruby,  the  sapphire,  the  topaz, 
the  chrysolite,  the  beryl,  the  emerald,  the  hyacinth* 
the  amethyst,  the  garnet,  the  tourmalin,  and  the  opal. 
To  these  may  be  added  rock  crystal,  the  fine  flints  of 
pebbles,  the  cat’s- eye,  the  oculis  mundi  or  hydro- 
phanes,  the  chalcedony,  the  moon-stone,  the  onyx,  the- 
carnelian,  the  sardonyx,  agates,  and  the  Labrador- 
stone.  These  stones,  together  with  different  kinds  of 
pearl,  are  also  called  gems  or  jewels. 

3.  The  precious  stones  are  valuable,  as  articles  of 
merchandise,  in  proportion  to  their,  scarcity,  weight, 
transparency,  lustre,  and  hardness.  In  most  of  these 
particulars,  the  diamond  is  superior  to  any  other  ; 
but  those  of  the  same  size  are  not  always  of  equal 
value,  for  all  are  not  of  the  same  color  or  brilliancy. 
The  very  best  are  said  to  be  diamonds  of  the  first  wa¬ 
ter.  The  diamond  was  called  adamant  by  the  an- 


THE  JEWELLER. 


205 


cients,  although  this  term  was  not  confined  exclusively 
to  this  stone. 

4.  The  weight  and  consequent  value  of  the  most 
precious  stones  are  estimated  in  carats ,  one  of  which 
is  equal  to  four  grains  troy  weight,  and  the  value  of 
each  carat  is  increased  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the 
stone.  In  England,  the  cost  of  a  cut  diamond  of  the 
first  water  is  thus  estimated  : 

1  carat  is  -  =  l. 8 

2  do.  is  2x2x8  =  32 
/  3  do.  is  3x3x8  =  72 

4  do.  is  4x4x8  ==  128 

By  the  foregoing  examples,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
weight  is  multiplied  by  itself,  and  the  product  by  the 
price  per  carat,  which  may  be  some  other  sum,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  general  characteristics  of  the  stone. 

5.  This  rule,  however,  is  not  extended  to  diamonds 
of  more  than  20  carats  in  weight ;  nor  is  this  or  any 
other  rule  of  estimate  strictly  adhered  to  in  every 
case ;  nevertheless,  it  probably  comes  pretty  near  to 
general  usage.  In  the  same  country,  a  perfect  ruby 
of  3£  carats  is  worth  more  than  a  diamond  of  equal 
weight.  A  ruby  weighing  one  carat  may  be  worth 
10  guineas  ;  two  carats,  40  guineas  ;  three  carats, 
150  guineas  ;  six  carats  1000  guineas.  A  ruby  of  a 
deep  red  color,  exceeding  20  carats,  is  called  a  car¬ 
buncle  ;  and  of  these,  108,  weighing  from  100  to  200 
carats  each,  are  said  to  have  been  in  the  throne  of  the 
Great  Mogul. 

6.  Some  of  the  European  sovereigns  have,  in  their 
possession,  diamonds  of  great  value,  several  of  which 
were  originally  brought  to  England  from  India.  The 
Pitt  or  Regent  diamond  was  purchased  in  India  by 
Robert  Pitt,  grandfather  of  the  Right  Honorable 
William  Pitt,  for  £12,500  sterling.  It  was  brought 
to  England  in  a  rough  state,  and  £5000  were  there 
expended  in  cutting  it ;  but  the  cuttings  themselves 

II.— S 


206 


THE  JEWELLER. 


were  worth  £7000  or  £8000.  It  was  sold  to  the 
Duke  of  Orleans,  for  the  King  of  France,  at  the  enor¬ 
mous  price  of  £136,000.  Its  weight  is  136  carats ; 
and,  before  it  was  cut,  it  was  as  large  as  a  common 
pullet’s  egg. 

7.  A  celebrated  diamond,  in  the  possession  of  the 
emperor  of  Russia,  is  denominated  the  Effingham,  or 
Russian  diamond .  It  was  brought  to  E  ngland  by  the 
Earl  of  Effingham,  while  governor-general  of  India, 
and  sold  to  the  Empress  Catharine  for  £90,000.  It 
is  inferior  in  shape  to  the  last  mentioned,  but  superior 
to  it  in  magnitude,  it  weighing  1 98  carats.  The  Queen 
of  England  has  a  diamond  which  cost  £22,000. 

8.  The  largest  diamond  hitherto  known  was  found 
in  the  island  of  Borneo,  and  it  is  now  in  the  posses¬ 
sion  of  the  Rajah  of  Mattan.  Many  years  ago,  the 
governor  of  Batavia  offered,  in  exchange  for  it, 
$150,000,  and  two  large  brigs  of  war  with  their 
equipments  and  outfit ;  but  the  rajah  refused  to  part 
with  the  jewel,  to  which  the  Malays  supposed  miracu¬ 
lous  power  belonged,  and  which  they  believed  to  be 
connected  with  the  fate  of  his  family.  The  weight  of 
this  diamond  is  367  carats. 

9.  Other  jewels,  belonging  to  different  sovereigns, 
as  well  as  to  private  persons,  might  be  mentioned  ; 
but  a  sufficient  number  has  been  noticed  to  enable  the 
reader  to  form  some  idea  of  the  extravagant  expendi¬ 
tures  often  made  for  articles  of  imaginary  value. 
We  will  merely  add  that  the  royal  family  of  Portugal 
is  in  possession  of  a  stone  which  was  formerly  sup¬ 
posed  to  be  a  diamond,  but  which  has  lately  proved  to 
be  some  kind  of  crystal  of  little  value.  The  weight 
of  this  stone  is  1680  carats  ;  and,  until  its  real  char¬ 
acter  was  discovered,  it  was  valued  at  224  millions 
sterling. 

10.  The  value  of  precious  stones  was  much  in¬ 
creased  in  ancient  times,  by  the  absurd  notion  com- 


THE  JEWELLER. 


207 


monly  entertained,  that  they  possessed  miraculous 
powers  in  preventing  or  curing  diseases,  as  well  as  in 
keeping  off  witches  and  evil  spirits.  These  notions^ 
still  prevail  more  or  less  in  heathen  nations ;  and 
many,  even  in  countries  called  Christian,  wear  them, 
or  something  else,  as  amulets  for  the  same  or  similar 
purposes. 

11.  The  Gem-sculptor . —  Figures  and  letters  are 
often  cut  in  precious  stones  by  the  gem-engraver,  or 
gem-sculptor,  whose  art,  according  to  the  opinion  of 
some  writers,  originated  with  the  Babylonians ;  but, 
according  to  others,  it  had  its  commencement  in  India 
or  Egypt.  In  the  latter  country,  it  was  first  employ¬ 
ed  in  the  production  of  hieroglyphical  figures  on  basalt 
and  granite  rocks.  This  art,  which  is  denominated 
lithoglyptics,  or  the  glyptic  art,  was  held  in  great  es¬ 
timation  by  the  Greeks  in  ancient  times.  It  arose  to 
eminence  with  the  other  fine  arts ;  and,  like  them,  it 
had  its  zenith  of  perfection,  was  buried  with  them  in 
the  ruins  of  the  Roman  empire,  and  with  them  re¬ 
vived  towards  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

12.  The  productions  of  gem-sculpture  are  chiefly 
of  two  kinds.  The  first  of  these  are  cameos ,  which 
are  little  bas-reliefs,  or  figures  raised  above  the  sur¬ 
face.  They  are  commonly  made  of  stones,  the  strata 
of  which  are  of  different  colors,  so  that  the  figure  is 
different  in  color  from  the  ground  on  which  it  has 
been  raised.  The  other  productions  of  this  art  are 
denominated  intaglios.  The  work  of  these  is  the  re¬ 
verse  of  that  first  mentioned,  since  the  figure  is  cut 
below  the  surface  of  the  stone,  so  that  they  serve  as 
seals  to  produce  impressions  in  relief  upon  soft  sub¬ 
stances. 

13.  This  artist  performs  his  work  by  means  of  a 
lathe,  with  the  aid  of  diamond  dust.  The  instru¬ 
ments  are  made  of  soft  iron,  and  are  fixed  in  leaden 
chucks,  which  can  be  readily  fastened  to  one  end  of 


208 


THE  JEWELLER. 


the  mandrel.  The  diamond  dust  is  made  into  thin 
paste  with  olive  oil,  and  is  applied  to  the  point  of  the 
instrument.  The  small  invisible  particles  insinuate 
themselves  into  the  iron,  where  they  remain  perma¬ 
nently  fixed.  In  producing  figures  and  letters  with  a 
tool  thus  charged  with  the  hardest  substance  in  na¬ 
ture,  the  precious  stone  is  brought  in  contact  with  it 
while  in  rapid  motion. 

14.  The  engraved  gems  of  antiquity  have  been 
greatly  esteemed,  as  works  of  art,  by  the  curious,  and 
various  methods  have,  therefore,  been  devised  to  im¬ 
itate  them.  This  has  been  done  in  glass  in  such  per¬ 
fection,  both  as  to  form  and  color,  that  good  judges 
can  scarcely  distinguish  the  imitations  from  the  ori¬ 
ginals.  The  impression  of  the  gem  is  first  taken  in 
some  kind  of  fine  earth ;  and,  upon  the  mould  thus 
formed,  the  proposed  material  is  pressed,  while  in  a 
plastic  state. 

15.  The  precious  stones  generally  have  likewise 
been  imitated  with  great  success.  The  basis  of  the 
different  compositions  is  a  paste  made  of  the  finest 
flint  glass,  the  materials  of  which  have  been  selected 
and  combined  with  great  care.  The  desired  color  is 
produced  with  metallic  oxydes.  A  great  number  of 
complex  receipts  are  in  use  among  manufacturers  of 
these  articles. 

16.  The  Lapidary.- — The  precious  stones  and  im¬ 
itations  of  them  in  glass  are  brought  to  the  desired 
form  by  the  lapidary.  The  instrument  with  which 
this  artist  chiefly  operates  is  a  wheel  which  is  made 
to  revolve  horizontally  before  him.  It  is  put  in  mo¬ 
tion  by  means  of  an  endless  rope  extending  from  an¬ 
other  wheel,  which  is  moved  with  the  left  hand  of  the 
operator,  while,  with  his  right,  he  holds,  in  a  proper 
position,  the  substance  to  be  reduced. 

17.  The  precious  stones,  being  of  small  size,  can¬ 
not  be  held  with  steadiness  on  the  wheel  with  the 


THE  JEWELLER. 


209 


hand,  nor  with  any  holding  instrument ;  they  are, 
therefore,  first  fastened,  by  means  of  sealing-wax,- to 
the  end  of  small  sticks.  By  this  simple  means,  and 
a  small  upright  post,  against  which  the  hand  or  the 
other  end  of  the  stick  is  rested,  the  workman  can 
hold  a  stone  in  any  position  he  may  desire. 

18.  The  lapidary’s  wheel  is  made  of  different  kinds 
of  metals.  The  diamond  is  cut  on  a  wheel  of  soft 
steel,  by  the  aid  of  its  own  dust  mixed  with  olive  oil. 
The  Oriental  ruby,  sapphire,  and  topaz,  are  cut  on  a 
copper  wheel  in  the  same  manner,  and  polished  with 
tripoli  and  water.  Stones  of  a  less  degree  of  hard¬ 
ness  are  cut  and  polished  on  a  leaden  or  tin  wheel 
with  emory  and  rotten  stone. 

19.  The  ancients  were  not  acquainted  with  any 
method  of  cutting  the  diamond,  although  they  applied 
its  powder  to  polishing,  cutting,  and  engraving  other 
stones.  Gems  of  this  kind,  either  rough,  or  polished 
by  nature,  were  set  as  ornaments,  and  were  valued 
according  to  the  beauty  and  perfection  of  their  crys¬ 
tallization  and  transparency.  The  value  of  any  pre¬ 
cious  stone,  or  jewel,  depends  much  upon  the  skill  of 
the  lapidary. 

20.  The  Pearl -fisherman.  —  Pearls  are  obtained 
from  a  testaceous  fish  of  the  oyster  kind,  found  in 
the  waters  of  the  East  and  West  Indies,  as  well  as  in 
other  seas  of  different  latitudes.  These  oysters  grow 
in  some  parts  of  the  globe,  in  clusters,  on  rocks  in  the 
depths  of  the  sea.  Such  places  are  called  pearl-hanks , 
of  which  the  most  celebrated  are  near  the  islands  of 
Ceylon  and  Japan,  and  in  the  Persian  Gulf.  The 
finest  and  most  costly  pearls  are  the  Oriental. 

21.  Pearls  are  considered  by  some  to  be  morbid 
concretions,  or  calculi,  produced  by  the  endeavor  of 
the  animal  to  fill  up  the  holes  which  may  have  been 
made  from  without  by  small  worms.  Others  suppose 
them  to  be  mere  concretions  of  the  animal  juice  about 

S  2 


210 


THE  JEWELLER. 


some  extraneous  matter  which  may  have  been  intru¬ 
ded  by  some  means  into  the  shell. 

22.  To  collect  the  shells  containing  these  singular 
productions,  is  the  business  of  divers ,  who  have  been 
brought  up  to  this  dangerous  occupation.  They  must 
generally  descend  from  eight  to  twelve  fathoms,  and 
must  remain  beneath  the  surface  of  the  water  for  sev¬ 
eral  minutes,  during  which  time  they  are  exposed  to 
the  attacks  of  the  voracious  shark.  In  addition  to  the 
danger  from  this  cause,  the  employment  is  very  de¬ 
structive  of  health. 

23.  In  preparing  a  diver  for  his  descent,  a  rope  is 
tied  round  the  body,  and  a  stone,  weighing  twenty  or 
thirty  pounds,  is  fastened  to  the  foot  to  sink  him. 
His  ears  and  nostrils  are  filled  with  cotton,  and  a 
sponge  dipped  in  oil  is  fastened  to  his  arm,  to  which 
he  may  now  and  then  apply  his  mouth,  in  order  to 
breathe  without  inhaling  water.  In  addition  to  these 
equipments,  he  is  furnished  with  a  knife,  with  which 
the  shells  may  be  detached  from  the  rocks,  and  with 
a  net  or  basket,  in  which  they  may  be  deposited. 

24.  Thus  equipped,  he  descends  to  the  bottom,  and 
having  filled  his  depository,  or  having  stayed  below 
as  long  as  he  may  be  able,  he  unlooses  the  stone, 
gives  the  signal  to  his  companions  above,  who  quickly 
draw  him  into  the  boat.  At  some  pearl-fisheries,  the 
diving-bell  is  employed,  which  in  some  degree  obvi¬ 
ates  some  of  the  dangers  before  stated. 

25.  The  shells  thus  obtained  are  laid  by,  until  the 
body  of  the  animal  has  putrified,  when  they  common¬ 
ly  open  of  themselves.  Those  which  contain  any 
pearls,  generally  have  from  eight  to  twelve.  The 
pearls  having  been  dried,  are  assorted  according  to 
their  various  magnitudes ;  and,  to  effect  this  separa¬ 
tion,  they  are  passed  through  nine  sieves  of  different 
degrees  of  fineness.  The  largest  pearls  are  about 


THE  JEWELLER. 


211 


the  size  of  a  small  walnut ;  but  such  are  very  rare. 
The  smallest  are  called  seed  pearls. 

26.  Pearls  are  of  various  colors,  such  as  white,  yel¬ 
low,  lead-color,  blackish,  and  totally  black.  The 
“  white  water”  is  preferred  in  Europe,  and  the  “  yel¬ 
low  water,”  in  Arabia  and  India.  In  regard  to  their 
form,  they  vary  considerably,  being  round,  pear-form¬ 
ed,  onion-formed,  and*  irregular.  The  inner  part  of 
the  pearl  muscle  is  called  nacre  or  mother  of  pearl ,  and 
this  is  manufactured  into  beads,  snuff-boxes,  spoons, 
and  a  variety  of  other  articles. 

27.  Pearls  were  objects  of  luxury  among  the  an¬ 
cients.  A  pearl  valued  by  Pliny  at  a  certain  sum, 
which,  reduced  to  our  currency,  amounts  to  $375,000, 
was  dissolved  by  Cleopatra,  and  drunk  to  the  health  of 
Antony,  at  a  banquet.  These  beautiful  productions 
are  not  estimated  so  highly  at  present.  The  largest 
will  sometimes  command  four  or  five  hundred  dollars, 
although  very  few,  which  are  worth  over  forty  or  fifty 
dollars,  are  ever  brought  to  this  country. 

28.  The  gem-engraver  and  the  jeweller  were  both 
employed  by  Moses,  in  preparing  the  ornaments  in 
the  ephod  and  breast-plate  of  the  high-priest.  In  the 
former  were  set  onyx  stones,  and  in  the  latter,  twelve 
different  stones.  On  the  gems  of  both  ornaments, 
were  engraved  the  names  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel. 

39.  We,  however,  have  evidence  of  the  practice  of 
the  arts,  connected  with  the  production  of  jewelry, 
long  before  the  days  of  the  Jewish  lawgiver.  We 
learn  from  the  twenty-fourth  chapter  of  Genesis,  that 
the  servant  of  Abraham  presented  a  golden  ear-ring, 
and  bracelets  for  the  hands,  to  Rebecca,  who  after¬ 
wards  became  the  wife  of  Isaac.  Perhaps  these  were 
brought  from  Egypt  by  the  patriarch,  about  seventy 
years  before. 

30.  Men  have  ever  been  fond  of  personal  ornaments, 
and  there  have  been  but  few  nations  since  the  flood, 


212 


THE  JEWELLER. 


which  have  not  encouraged  the  jeweller  in  some  way 
or  other.  In  modern  times,  the  art  has  been  greatly 
improved.  The  French,  for  lightness  and  elegance 
of  design,  have  surpassed  other  nations  ;  but  the  Eng¬ 
lish,  for  excellence  of  workmanship,  have  been  consid¬ 
ered,  for  ages,  unrivalled. 

31.  In  the  United  States,  the  manufacture  of  jew¬ 
elry  is  very  extensive,  there  being  large  establishments 
for  this  purpose  in  Philadelphia,  and  in  Newark,  N.  J., 
as  well  as  in  several  other  places.  So  extensive  have 
been  the  operations  in  this  branch  of  business,  and  to 
such  advantage  have  they  been  carried  on,  that  impor¬ 
tations  from  other  countries  have  ceased,  and  this,  too, 
without  the  influence  of  custom-house  duties. 

32.  The  capital  necessary  in  carrying  on  the  busi¬ 
ness  of  the  jeweller,  is  considerable,  inasmuch  as  the 
materials  are  very  expensive.  The  operations  like¬ 
wise  require  the  exercise  of  much  ingenuity.  These, 
however,  we  shall  not  attempt  to  describe,  since  our 
article  on  this  subject  has  already  been  extended  be¬ 
yond  its  proper  limits,  and  since,  also,  they  could  be 
hardly  understood  without  actual  inspection. 


s 


THE  SILVERSMITH,  AND  THE  WATCH-MAKER. 

SILVER. 

1. *  Silver  is  a  metal  of  a  fine  white  color,  and,  in 
brilliancy,  inferior  to  none  of  the  metals  except  steel. 
In  malleability,  it  is  next  to  gold,  it  being  capable  of 
reduction  into  leaves  not  more  than  the  ygoVoo  °f  an 
inch  in  thickness,  and  of  being  drawn  into  wire  much 
finer  than  a  human  hair. 

2.  The  relative  value  of  silver  and  gold  has  varied 
considerably  in  different  ages.  In  the  prosperous  pe¬ 
riod  of  ancient  civilization,  one  pound  of  gold  was 
worth  twelve  of  silver.  In  Great  Britain,  the  relative 
value  of  the  two  metals  is  one  to  fifteen  and  one-fifth  ; 
and,  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  it  is  about  one  to  fif¬ 
teen.  In  the  United  States,  the  relative  value  of  these 
two  metals  has  been  recently  established  by  Congress 


214 


SILVER. 


at  one  to  sixteen.  In  China  and  Japan,  it  is  said  to 
be  one  to  nine  or  ten. 

3.  There  are  two  methods  of  separating  silver  from 
its  various  ores,  and  these  are  called  smelting  and 
amalgamation.  In  the  former  method,  the  ore  and  a 
due  proportion  of  lead  are  heated  together ;  and  the 
latter,  from  its  great  affinity  for  silver,  unites  with  it, 
and  separates  it  from  other  substances.  The  two 
metals  are  afterwards  separated  from  each  other,  by 
melting  them  on  a  cupel,  and  then  exposing  them  to  a 
current  of  atmospheric  air,  by  which  the  lead  is  con¬ 
verted  into  an  oxyde,  while  the  silver  remains  un¬ 
touched.  This  process  is  called  cupellation. 

4.  In  the  other  method,  the  first  thing  done  is  to 
roast  the  ore,  to  expel  the  sulphur  and  other  volatile 
parts.  It 'is  then  reduced  to  an  impalpable  powder 
by  machinery ;  and  having  been  sifted,  it  is  agitated 
sixteen  or  eighteen  hours  in  barrels,  with  a  quantity  of 
quicksilver,  water,  and  iron,  combined  in  certain  pro¬ 
portions.  This  agitation  causes  the  several  substan¬ 
ces  composing  the  charge ,  to  unite  according  to  their 
respective  affinities.  . 

5.  The  silver  and  mercury  combine,  forming  an 
amalgam,  which,  having  been  put  into  a  leather  sack, 
a  part  of  the  latter  is  separated  from  the  rest  by  filtra¬ 
tion,  still  leaving  six  parts  of  this  metal  to  one  of  the 
silver.  The  amalgam  is  next  submitted  to  the  action 
of  heat  in  a  distilling  furnace,  by  which  the  mercury 
is  sublimated. 

6.  The  value  of  the  silver  annually  taken  from  the 
mines  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  is  supposed  to  be  about 
$20,000,000,  of  which  Mexico  and  South  America 
yield  the  greater  part.  The  several  silver  mines  of 
Europe  and  Asia  produce  about  two  millions  and  a 
half. 


THE  SILVERSMITH. 


215 


THE  SILVERSMITH. 

1.  The  artisan  who  forms  certain  articles  of  gold 
and  silver,  is  called  indifferently  a  goldsmith  or  a  sil¬ 
versmith.  The  former  denomination  is  most  com¬ 
monly  employed  in  England,  and  the  latter,  in  the 
United  States. 

2.  The  most  common  subjects  of  manufacture  by 
the  silversmith  are  cups,  goblets,  chalices,  tankards, 
spoons,  knives,  forks,  waiters,  bread-trays,  tea-pots, 
coffe-pots,  cream-pots,  sugar-bowls,  sugar-tongs,  and 
pencil-cases.  Many  of  these  articles  he  sometimes 
makes  of  gold ;  this  is  especially  the  case  in  Europe, 
and  some  parts  of  Asia.  In  the  United  States,  the 
people  are  commonly  satisfied  with  the  less  expensive 
metal. 

3.  A  great  proportion  of  the  silver  used  by  this 
mechanic,  has  been  previously  coined  into  dollars. 
In  working  these  into  different  utensils  or  vessels,  he 
first  melts  them  in  a  crucible,  and  casts  the  silver  into 
solid  masses  by  pouring  it  into  iron  moulds  ;  and  hav¬ 
ing  forged  it  on  an  anvil,  he  reduces  it  still  further, 
and  to  a  uniform  thickness,  by  passing  it  several  times 
between  steel  rollers.  In  giving  additional  explana¬ 
tions  of  the  operations  of  the  silversmith,  we  will  de¬ 
scribe  the  manner  in  which  a  plain  tea-pot  is  manu¬ 
factured. 

4.  In  forming  the  body,  or  containing  part,  the  plate, 
forged  and  rolled  as  just  described,  is  cut  into  a  circu¬ 
lar  form,  and  placed  on  a  block  of  soft  wood  with  a 
concave  face,  where  it  is  beaten  with  a  convex  ham¬ 
mer,  until  it  has  been  brought  to  a  form  much  like 
that  of  a  saucer.  It  is  then  placed  upon  an  anvil,  and 
beaten  a  while  with  a  long-necked  hammer  with  a 
round  flattish  face. 

5.  It  is  next  raised  to  the  proposed  form  by  forging 
it  on  a  long  slender  anvil,  called  a  stake ,  with  a  nar- 


216 


THE  SILVERSMITH. 


row-faced  hammer,  which  spreads  the  metal  perpen¬ 
dicularly  from  the  bottom,  or  laterally,  according  to 
the  position  in  which  it  may  be  held  when  brought  in 
contact  with  the  metal. 

6.  After  the  piece  has  been  thus  brought  to  the  pro¬ 
posed  form,  it  is  planished  all  over  by  beating  it  with 
a  small  hammer  on  the  outside,  while  it  rests  on  a 
small  steel  head  on  the  inside.  During  the  perform¬ 
ance  of  these  operations,  the  silver  is  occasionally  an¬ 
nealed  by  heating  it  in  the  fire  ;  but  it  is  worked  while 
in  a  cold  state,  except  in  the  first  forging,  when  it  is 
wrought  while  a  little  below  red  heat. 

7.  The  several  pieces  which  compose  a  tea-pot  of 
ordinary  construction,  amount  to  about  fifteen,  nearly 
all  of  which  are  rolled  and  forged  in  the  manner  just 
described.  The  knob  on  the  lid,  the  handle,  and  the 
spout,  are  sometimes  cast,  and  at  other  times,  the  two 
pieces  of  which  they  are  formed  are  cut  from  a  plate, 
and  brought  to  a  proper  figure  by  impressing  them 
with  steel  dies. 

8.  The  figures  seen  on  the  cheaper  kinds  of  silver 
tea-pots,  as  well  as  on  other  vessels  and  utensils,  are 
commonly  made  by  passing  the  plates  or  strips  be¬ 
tween  engraved  steel  rollers,  or  by  stamping  them 
with  steel  dies.  The  dies  are  commonly  brought  in 
sudden  and  violent  contact  with  the  metal  by  means  of 
an  iron  drop,  which  is  let  fall  from  a  height  upon  it. 

9.  After  the  several  parts  have  been  brought  to  the 
proper  shape,  and  to  the  requisite  finish,  they  are  firm¬ 
ly  united  together  by  means  of  a  solder  composed  of 
about  three  parts  of  silver  and  one  of  brass  and  cop¬ 
per.  Before  the  spout  and  handle  are  soldered  on,  the 
other  parts,  which  have  been  thus  united  into  one 
piece,  are  brought  to  a  certain  degree  of  polish. 

10.  This  is  effected  chiefly  in  a  lathe,  by  holding 
against  the  piece,  while  in  rapid  motion,  first  a  file, 
then  a  scraper,  and  afterwards  pumice  stone  and 


THE  SILVERSMITH. 


217 


Scotch  stone.  It  is  then  held  against  a  rapidly  re¬ 
volving  brush,  charged  with  fine  brickdust  and  sweet 
oil.  The  handle  and  spout  are  next  soldered  on. 
After  this,  the  vessel  is  annealed,  and  put  in  pickle ,  or, 
in  other  words,  into  a  weak  solution  of  oil  of  vitriol. 
It  is  then  scoured  with  sand  and  water,  and  the  whole 
operation  is  completed  by  burnishing  the  smooth  parts 
with  a  steel  instrument. 

11.  In  the  more  expensive  kinds  of  wares,  the  raised 
figures  and  the  frosty  appearance  are  produced  by  a 
process  called  chasing.  In  executing  this  kind  of 
work,  a  drawing  is  first  made  on  the  silver  with  a  lead 
pencil.  The  several  parts  are  then  raised  from  the 
other  side,  corresponding  as  nearly  as  possible  to  it. 
The  vessel  or  piece  is  then  filled  with,  or  placed  upon, 
melted  cement,  composed  of  pitch  and  brick-dust ; 
and,  after  the  cement  has  become  hard  by  cooling,  the 
chaser  reduces  the  raised  parts  to  the  form  indicated 
by  the  drawing,  by  means  of  small  steel  punches. 
The  roughness  of  surface,  and  frosty  appearance,  are 
produced  by  punches  indented  on  the  end. 

12.  The  operations  of  the  silversmith  are  exceed¬ 
ingly  various,  many  of  which  could  be  hardly  under¬ 
stood  from  mere  description.  We  would,  therefore, 
recommend  to  the  curious,  actual  inspection,  assuring 
them  that  the  ingenuity  displayed  in  executing  the 
work  in  the  different  branches  of  the  business,  is  well 
worthy  of  their  attention.  We  will  merely  add,  that 
spoons,  knives,  and  forks,  are  not  cast,  as  is  frequent¬ 
ly  supposed,  but  forged  from  strips  of  silver  cut  from 
rolled  sheets. 

13.  The  earliest  historical  notice  of  gold  and  silver 
is  found  in  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  Genesis,  where  it 
is  stated  that  Abraham  returned  to  Canaan  from  Egypt, 

“  rich  in  cattle,  in  silver,  and  in  gold.”  This  event 
took  place  about  1920  years  before  Christ,  it  being 
but  little  more  than  400  years  after  the  deluge.  From 

II.— T 


218  THE  CLOCK  AND  WATCH  MAKER. 

the  authority  of  the  same  book,  we  also  learn,  that 
during  the  life  of  this  patriarch,  those  metals  were 
employed  as  a  medium  of  commercial  intercourse, 
and  as  the  materials  for  personal  ornaments,  vessels, 
and  utensils. 

14.  From  the  preceding  facts,  we  have  reason  to 
believe  that  gold  and  silver  were  known  to  the  antedi. 
luvians  ;  for,  had  not  this  been  the  case,  they  could 
hardly  have  been  held  in  such  estimation  so  early  as 
the  time  of  Abraham.  In  short,  they  were  probably 
wrought  even  in  the  days  of  the  original  progenitor 
of  the  human  race,  as  was  evidently  the  case  with  iroiv 
and  copper. 

THE  CLOCK  AND  WATCH  MAKER. 

1.  The  great  divisions  of  time,  noted  by  uncivil¬ 
ized  men,  are  those  which  are  indicated  by  the  chan¬ 
ges  of  the  moon,  and  the  annual  and  diurnal  revolu¬ 
tions  of  the  earth  ;  but  the  ingenuity  of  man  was  very 
early  exercised  in  devising  methods  of  measuring 
more  minute  periods  of  duration. 

2.  The  earliest  contrivance  for  effecting  this  object 
was  the  sun-dial.  This  instrument  was  known  to  the 
ancient  Egyptians,  Chaldeans,  Chinese,  and  Bramins. 
It  was  likewise  known  to  the  Hebrews,  at  least  as 
early  as  740  years  before  Christ,  in  the  days  of  Ahaz 
the  king.  The  Greeks  and  the  Romans  borrowed  it 
from  their  Eastern  neighbors.  The  first  sun-dial  at 
Rome  was  set  up  by  Papirius  Cursor,  about  300 
years  before  Christ.  Before  this  period,  the  Romans 
determined  the  time  of  day  by  the  rude  method  of 
observing  the  length  of  shadows. 

3.  The  sun-dial,  as  it  is  now  constructed,  consists 
of  a  plate,  divided  into  twelve  equal- parts,  like  the 
face  of  a  clock,  on  which  the  falling  of  a  shadow  indi¬ 
cates  the  time  of  day.  The  shadow  is  projected  by 
the  sun,  through  the  intervention  of  a  rod  or  the  edge 


THE  CLOCK  AND  WATCH  MAKER.  219 

of  a  plate  stile  erected  on  the  plane  of  the  dial.  But, 
since  the  dial  was  useful  only  in  the  clear  day,  an¬ 
other  instrument  was  invented,  which  could  be  used 
at  all  times,  in  every  variety  of  situation  ;  and  to  this 
was  given  the  name  of  clepsydra. 

4.  This  instrument  is  supposed  to  have  been  in¬ 
vented  in  Egypt ;  but,  at  what  period,  or  by  whom, 
it  is  not  stated.  Its  construction  was  varied,  in  dif¬ 
ferent  ages  and  countries,  according  with  the  partic¬ 
ular  modes  of  reckoning  time  ;  but  the  constant  drop¬ 
ping  or  running  of  water  from  one  vessel  into  another, 
through  a  small  aperture,  is  the  basis  in  all  the  forms 
which  it  has  assumed.  The  time  was  indicated  by 
the  regularly  increasing  height  of  the  water  in  the 
receiving  vessel. 

5.  The  clepsydra  was  introduced  into  Greece  by 
Plato,  near  400  years  before  Christ,  and,  about  200 
years  after  this,  into  Rome,  by  Scipio  Africanus.  It 
is  said  that  Pompey  brought  a  valuable  one  from  the 
East,  and  that  Julius  Coesar  met  with  one  in  England, 
by  which  he  discovered  that  the  summer  nights  were 
shorter  there  than  in  Italy. 

6.  The  use  which  Pompey  made  of  his  instrument, 
was  to  limit  the  length  of  speeches  in  the  senate. 
Hence  he  is  said,  by  a  historian  of  those  times,  to 
have  been  the  first  Roman  who  put  bridles  upon  elo¬ 
quence.  A  similar  use  was  made  of  the  clepsydra  in 
the  courts  of  justice,  first  in  Greece,  and  afterwards 
in  Rome. 

7.  A  kind  of  water-clock,  or  clepsydra,  adapted  to 
the  modern  divisions  of  time,  was  invented  near  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century;  and  these  were 
extensively  used,  in  various  parts  of  Europe,  for  a 
considerable  time  ;  but  they  are  now  entirely  super¬ 
seded  by  our  common  clocks  and  watches,  which  are 
far  more  perfect  in  their  operation,  and,  in  all  re- 


220  THE  CLOCK  AND  WATCH  MAKER. 

spects,  better  adapted  to  the  purposes  to  which  they 
are  applied. 

8.  The  invention  of  the  clock  is  concealed  in  the 
greatest  obscurity.  Some  writers  attribute  it  to  the 
monks,  as  this  instrument  was  used  in  the  twelfth 
century  in  the  monasteries,  to  regulate  the  inmates 
in  their  attendance  on  prayers  both  by  night  and  by 
day.  Others  suppose  that  a  knowledge  of  this  valua¬ 
ble  instrument  was  derived  from  the  Saracens,  through 
the  intercourse  arising  from  the  crusades.  Be  this 
as  it  may,  clocks  were  but  little  known  in  Europe, 
until  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century. 

9.  Richard,  abbot  of  St.  Alban’s,  England,  made  a 
clock  in  1326,  such  as  had  never  been  heard  of  until 
then.  It  not  only  indicated  the  course  of  the  sun  and 
moon,  but  also  the  ebbing  and  flowing  of  the  tide. 
Large  clocks  on  steeples  began  to  be  used  in  this 
century.  The  first  of  this  kind  is  supposed  to  have 
been  made  and  put  up  in  Padua  by  Jacobus  Dondi. 

10.  A  steeple  clock  was  set  up  in  Boulogne,  in 
1356  ;  and,  in  1364,  Henry  de  Wyck,  a  German  ar¬ 
tist,  placed  one  in  the  palace  of  Charles  V.,  king  of 
France.  In  1368,  three  Dutchmen  introduced  clock¬ 
work  into  England,  under  the  patronage  of  Edward 
III.  Clocks  began  to  be  common  both  in  England 
and  on  the  Continent,  about  the  end  of  the  fifteenth 
century. 

11.  The  clock  of  Henry  de  Wyck  is  the  most  an¬ 
cient  instrument  of  this  kind  of  which  we  have  a  de¬ 
scription.  The  wheels  were  made  of  wrought  iron, 
and  the  teeth  were  cut  by  hand.  In  other  respects, 
also,  it  was  a  rude  piece  of  mechanism,  and  not  at  all 
capable  of  keeping  time  with  accuracy.  But,  rude  as 
it  was,  it  is  not  likely  that  it  was  the  invention  of  a 
single  individual ;  but  that,  after  the  first  rude  ma¬ 
chine  was  put  in  motion,  it  received  several  improve¬ 
ments  from  various  persons.  This  has,  at  least,  been 


I 

.WM 

■H 

THE  CLOCK  AND  WATCH  MAKER.  221 

the  case  with  all  the  improvements  made  on  the  clock 
of  Henry  de  Wyck,  to  the  present  day. 

12.  The  application  of  the  pendulum  to  clock-work 
appears  to  have  been  first  made  by  Vincenzo  Galileo, 
in  1649  ;  but  the  improvement  was  rendered  com¬ 
pletely  successful,  in  1656,  by  Christian  Huygens,  a 
Dutch  philosopher.  The  laws  of  the  oscillation  of 
the  pendulum  were  first  investigated  by  Galileo,  the 
great  Italian  philosopher,  and  father  of  the  Galileo 
just  mentioned.  His  attention  was  attracted  to  this 
subject  by  the  swinging  of  a  lamp  suspended  from  the 
ceiling  of  the  Cathedral,  at  Pisa,  his  native  city. 

13.  The  clocks  first  made  were  of  a  large  size,  and 
were  placed  only  in  public  edifices.  The  works  were, 
at  length,  reduced  in  their  dimensions,  and  these  use¬ 
ful  machines  were  gradually  introduced  into  private 
dwellings.  They  were  finally  made  of  a  portable 
size,  and  Were  carried  about  the  person.  These  port¬ 
able  clocks  had,  for  their  maintaining  power,  a  main- 
spring  of  steel,  instead  of  a  weight,  which  was  used 
in  the  larger  time-keepers. 

14.  The  original  pocket- watches  differed  but  little, 
if  at  all,  in  the  general  plan  of  their  construction,  from 
the  portable  clocks  just  mentioned.  The  transition 
from  one  kind  of  instrument  to  the  other  was,  there¬ 
fore,  obvious  and  easy ;  but  the  time  of  the  change 
cannot  be  certainly  determined.  It  is  commonly  ad¬ 
mitted,  however,  that  Peter  Hele  constructed  the  first 
watch,  in  1510. 

15.  Watches  appear  to  have  been  extensively  man¬ 
ufactured  at  Nuremburg,  in  Germany,  soon  after  their 
invention,  as  one  of  the  names  bv  which  they  were 
designated,  was  Nuremburg  eggs.  These  instruments, 
as  well  as  clocks,  were  in  common  use  in  France,  in 
1544,  when  the  company  of  clock  and  watch  makers 
of  Paris  was  first  incorporated. 

16.  In  165S,  the  spring  balance  was  invented  by 


222  THE  CLOCK  AND  WATCH  MAKER. 

Doctor  Nathaniel  Hooke,  an  English  philosopher. 
At  least  the  invention  is  attributed  to  him  by  his 
countrymen.  On  the  Continent  it  is  claimed  for 
Christian  Huygens.  Before  this  improvement  was 
made,  the  performance  of  watches  was  so  defective, 
that  the  best  of  them  could  not  be  relied  upon  for  ac¬ 
curate  time  an  hour  together.  Their  owners  were 
obliged  to  set  them  often  to  the  proper  time,  and  wind 
them  up  twice  a  day. 

'  17.  After  the  great  improvements  had  been  effect¬ 
ed  in  the  clock  and  watch  by  Huygens  and  Hooke, 
several  others  of  minor  importance  were  successively 
made  by  different  persons  ;  but  our  limits  do  not  allow 
us  to  give  them  a  particular  notice  ;  we  will  only  state 
that  the  repeating  apparatus  of  both  clocks  and  watch¬ 
es  was  invented,  about  the  year  1676,  by  one  Barlow, 
an  Englishman ;  that  the  compensation  or  gridiron 
pendulum  was  invented  by  George  Graham,  of  Lon¬ 
don,  in  1715  ;  and  that  jewels  were  applied  to  watch¬ 
es,  to  prevent  friction,  by  one  Facio,  a  German. 

18.  Clocks  and  watches  are  constructed  on  the  same 
general  principles.  The  mechanism  of  both  is  com¬ 
posed  of  wheel-work,  with  contrivances  to  put  it  in 
motion,  and  to  regulate  its  movements.  The  moving 
or  maintaining  power  in  large  clocks  is  a  weight  sus¬ 
pended  by  a  cord  to  a  cylinder.  In  watches,  and 
sometimes  in  small  clocks,  this  office  is  performed  by 
a  steel  spring.  In  the  clock,  the  regulation  of  the 
machinery  is  effected  by  the  pendulum,  and  in  the 
watch,  by  the  balance-wheel,  or  spring  balance.  In 
either  case,  the  maintaining  power  is  prevented  from 
expending  itself,  except  in  measured  portions. 

19.  The  time  is  indicated  by  hands,  or  pointers, 
which  move  on  the  dial  plate.  The  minute  hand  is 
attached  to  the  axle  of  the  wheel  which  makes  its  rev¬ 
olution  in  sixty  minutes,  and  the  hour  hand,  to  the  one 
which  makes  the  revolution  in  twelve  hours.  Great- 


THE  CLOCK  AND  WATCH  MAKER.  223 


er  and  smaller  divisions  of  time  are  kept  and  indica¬ 
ted  on  the  same  principle.  The  part  of  a  clock  which 
keeps  the  time,  is  called  the  going  part ;  and  that 
which  strikes  the  hour,  the  striking  part. 

20.  The  division  of  labor  is  particularly  conspicu¬ 
ous  in  the  manufacture  of  watches,  as  the  production 
of  almost  every  part  is  the  labor  of  a  distinct  artisan. 
The  workman  who  polishes  the  several  parts,  and  puts 
them  together,  is  called,  among  this  class  of  trades¬ 
men,  the  finisher  or  watch-maker .  Those,  therefore, 
who  deal  largely  in  watches  in  England,  purchase  the 
different  parts  from  the  several  manufacturers,  and 
cause  them  to  be  put  together  by  the  finisher. 

21.  Watches  are  extensively  manufactured  in  vari¬ 
ous  parts  of  Europe,  but  particularly  in  French  Switz¬ 
erland,  France,  and  England.  The  London  watch¬ 
makers  have  been  celebrated  for  good  workmanship, 
for  more  than  a  century  and  a  half.  This  manufac¬ 
ture  has  not  yet  been  commenced  in  the  United  States, 
although  the  machinery,  or  inside  work ,  is  very  often 
imported  in  tin  boxes,  and  afterwards  supplied  with 
dial  plates  and  cases.  This  is  especially  the  case  with 
the  mpre  valuable  kinds  of  watches. 

22.  Brass  clocks  are  maufactured  in  most  of  our 
cities,  and  in  many  of  our  villages,  and  wooden  clocks, 
in  great  numbers,  in  the  state  of  Connecticut.  These 
last  are  carried  by  pedlers  into  the  remotest  parts  of 
the  country,  so  that  almost  every  farmer  in  our  land 
can  divide  the  day  by  the  oscillations  of  the  pendulum. 


THE  COPPERSMITH,  THE  BUTTON-MAKER,  AND 
THE  PIN-MAKER. 


COPPER. 

1.  Copper  is  a  ductile  and  malleable  metal,  of  a  pale 
yellowish  red  color.  It  is  sometimes  found  in  a  na¬ 
tive  state,  but  not  in  great  quantities.  The  copper  of 
commerce  is  principally  extracted  from  the  ores  called 
sulphurets.  Copper  mines  are  wrought  in  many  coun¬ 
tries  ;  but  those  of  Sweden  are  said  to  furnish  the  pu¬ 
rest  copper  of  commerce,  although  those  of  the  island 
of  Anglesea  are  said  to  be  the  richest. 

2.  In  working  sulphureted  ore,  it  is  first  broken 
into  pieces,  and  roasted  with  a  moderate  heat  in  a  kiln, 
to  free  it  from  sulphur.  When  the  ore  is  also  largely 
combined  with  arsenic,  a  greater  degree  of  heat  is  ne¬ 
cessary.  In  such  a  case,  it  is  spread  upon  a  large 


COPPER. 


225 


floor  of  a  reverberatory  furnace,  and  exposed  to  a 
greater  heat.  By  this  treatment,  the  sulphur  and. ar¬ 
senic  are  soon  driven  off. 

3.  The  ore  is  then  transferred  to  the  fusing  furnace, 
and  smelted  in  contact  with  fuel.  The  specific  grav¬ 
ity  of  the  copper,  causes  it  to  sink  beneath  the  scoria 
into  a  receptacle  at  the  bottom  of  the  furnace.  To 
render  the  metal  sufficiently  pure,  it  requires  repeated 
fusions,  and,  even  after  these,  it  usually  contains  a  lit¬ 
tle  lead,  and  a  small  portion  of  antimony. 

4.  Alloys  of  copper. — Copper  is  combined  by  fusion 
with  a  great  number  of  metals,  and,  in  such  combina¬ 
tions,  it  is  of  great  importance  in  the  arts.  When 
added  in  small  quantities  to  gold  and  silver,  it  increas¬ 
es  their  hardness,  without  materially  injuring  their 
color,  or  diminishing  their  malleability.  An  alloy, 
called  white  copper,  imported  from  China,  and  de¬ 
nominated,  in  that  country,  pakfong ,  is  composed  of 
copper,  zinc,  nickel,  and  iron.  It  is  very  tough  and 
malleable,  and  is  easily  cast,  hammered,  and  polished. 
When  well  manufactured,  it  is  very  white,  and  as  lit¬ 
tle  liable  to  oxydation  as  silver. 

5.  Copper,  with  about  one-fourth  of  its  weight  of 
lead,  forms  pot-metal.  Brass  is  an  alloy  of  copper 
and  zinc.  The  proportion  of  the  latter  metal  varies 
from  one-eighth  to  one-fourth.  Mixtures,  chiefly  of 
these  two  metals,  are  also  employed  to  form  a  variety 
of  gold -colored  alloys,  among  which  are  prince's  met¬ 
al,  pinchbeck,  tombac,  and  bath-metal . 

6.  A  series  of  alloys  is  formed  by  a  combination 
of  tin  and  copper.  They  are  all  more  or  less  brittle, 
rigid,  and  sonorous,  according  to  the  relative  propor¬ 
tions  of  the  two  metals  ;  these  qualities  increasing 
with  the  amount  of  tin.  The  principal  of  these  al¬ 
loys  are,  bronze,  employed  in  the  casting  of  statues ; 
gun-metal,  of  which  pieces  of  artillery  are  made ; 
bell-metal,  of  which  bells  are  made  ;  and  speculum - 


226 


THE  COPPERSMITH. 


metal,  which  is  used  for  the  mirrors  of  reflecting  tel¬ 
escopes. 

7.  The  alloys  of  copper  were  very  prevalent  among 
the  nations  of  antiquity,  and  were  used,  in  many  ca¬ 
ses  where  iron  would  have  answered  a  much  better 
purpose.  The  instruments  of  husbandry  and  of  war, 
as  well  as  those  for  domestic  uses  generally,  were 
usually  made  of  bronze,  a  composition  which  furnish¬ 
es  the  best  substitute  for  iron  and  steel.  The  Co¬ 
rinthian  brass,  so  celebrated  in  antiquity,  was  a  mix¬ 
ture  of  copper,  gold,  and  silver. 

8.  The  earliest  information  of  the  use  of  this  metal 
by  mankind,  is  found  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  Genesis, 
in  which  it  is  stated,  that  “  Tubal-Cain  was  the  in- 
structer  of  every  artificer  in  brass  and  iron.”  This 
individual  was  the  seventh  generation  from  Adam, 
and  was  born  about  the  year  of  the  world  500. 

THE  COPPERSMITH. 

1.  Copper,  being  easily  wrought,  is  applied  to 
many  useful  purposes.  It  is  formed  into  sheets  by 
heating  it  in  a  furnace,  and  compressing  it  between 
steel  rollers.  The  operation  of  rolling  it  constitutes 
a  distinct  business,  and  is  performed  in  mills  erected 
for  the  express  purpose. 

2.  The  rolled  sheets  are  purchased  according  to 
weight  by  the  coppersmith,  who  employs  them  in 
sheathing  the  bottoms  of  ships,  in  covering  the  roofs 
of  houses,  and  in  constructing  steam-boilers  and  stills. 
He  also  fabricates  them  into  a  variety  of  household 
utensils,  although  thfe  use  of  this  metal  in  preparing 
and  preserving  food,  is  attended  with  some  danger, 
on  account  of  the  poisonous  quality  of  the  verdigris 
which  is  produced  on  the  surface. 

3.  An  attempt  has  been  made  to  obviate  this  diffi¬ 
culty,  by  lining  the  vessels  with  a  thin  coating  of  tin. 
This  answers  the  purpose  fully,  so  long  as  the  cover. 


THE  BUTTO  N-M  AKER. 


227 


ing  of  tin  remains  entire.  But,  in  cases  of  exposure 
to  heat,  it  is  liable  to  be  melted  off,  unless  it  is  kept 
covered  with  water. 

4.  This  metal  can  be  reduced  by  forging  to  any 
shape  ;  but,  during  the  process,  it  will  bear  no  heat 
greater  than  a  red  heat ;  and,  as  it  does  not  admit  of 
welding,  like  iron,  different  pieces  are  united  with 
bolts,  or  rivets,  of  the  same  metal,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
larger  kinds  of  vessels,  or  by  means  of  solder  made 
of  brass  and  zinc,  or  zinc  and  lead,  as  in  the  case  of 
those  of  smaller  dimensions. 

5.  Brass  is  applied  to  a  greater  variety  of  purpo¬ 
ses  in  the  arts  than  copper.  This  preference  has 
arisen  from  its  superior  beauty,  from  the  greater  fa¬ 
cility  with  which  it  can  be  formed  into  any  required 
shape,  and  from  its  being  less  influenced  by  exposure 
to  the  ordinary  chemical  agents. 

6.  Some  of  the  articles  manufactured  of  brass,  are 
forged  to  the  required  form,  and  others  are  made  of 
rolled  sheets ;  but,  in  most  cases,  they  pass  through 
the  hands  of  the  brass-founder,  who  liquifies  the  metal, 
and  pours  it  into  moulds  of  sand.  For  the  sake  of 
lightness,  and  economy  of  material,  many  articles  are 
made  hollow ;  in  such  cases,  they  are  cast  in  halves 
or  pieces,  and  these  are  afterwards  soldered  together. 

7.  Pieces  which  have  been  cast  are  generally  re¬ 
duced  in  size,  and  brought  more  exactly  to  the  pro¬ 
posed  form,  either  in  a  lathe,  with  tools  adapted  to 
turning,  or  in  the  vice,  with  files  and  other  suitable 
instruments.  The  operators  in  brass  form  a  class  of 
mechanics  distinct  from  those  who  work  in  copper. 

THE  BUTTON-MAKER. 

1.  Trifling  as  the  manufacture  of  buttons  may 
appear,  there  are  few  which  include  a  greater  variety 
of  operations.  The  number  of  substances  of  which 
they  are  made  is  very  great,  among  which  are  gold, 


228 


THE  BUTTO  N-M  AKER. 


silver,  various  alloys  of  copper,  steel,  tin,  glass,  mother- 
of-pearl,  bone,  horn,  and  tortoise-shell,  besides  those 
which  consist  of  moulds  of  wood  or  bone,  covered 
with  silk,  mohair,  or  similar  materials. 

2.  In  making  gilt  buttons,  the  blanks ,  or  bodies,  are 
cut  from  rolled  plates  of  brass,  with  a  circular  punch 
driven  by  means  of  a  fly  wheel.  The  blanks  thus 
produced,  are  planished  with  a  plain  die,  if  they  are 
intended  for  plain  buttons ;  or  with  one  having  on  it 
an  engraved  figure,  if  they  are  to  be  of  the  ornament¬ 
al  kind.  In  either  case,  the  die  is  usually  driven  with 
a  fly  press. 

3.  The  shanks  are  next  placed  on  one  side  of  the 
proposed  button,  and  held  there  temporarily  with  a 
wire  clasp.  A  small  quantity  of  solder  and  rosin 
having  been  applied  to  each  shank,  the  buttons  are 
exposed  to  heat  on  an  iron  plate,  until  the  solder  shall 
have  melted.  The  shanks  having  been  thus  firmly 
soldered  on,  the  buttons  are  turned  off*  smoothly  on 
their  edges  in  a  lathe. 

4.  The  buttons  are  next  freed  from  oxyde,  by  im¬ 
mersing  them  in  diluted  nitric  acid,  and  by  friction 
in  a  lathe.  They  are  then  put  into  a  vessel  contain¬ 
ing  a  quantity  of  nitric  acid  supersaturated  with  mer¬ 
cury.  The  superior  attraction  of  the  copper  for  the 
acid,  causes  a  portion  of  it  to  be  absorbed ;  and  the 
mercury  held  in  solution  by  it,  is  deposited  on  the 
buttons,  which  are  next  put  into  a  vessel  containing 
an  amalgam  of  mercury  and  gold. 

5.  The  amalgam  is  formed  by  melting  the  two 
metals  together,  and  afterwards  pouring  them  into 
cold  water.  The  composition  having  been  put  into 
a  bag  of  chamois  leather,  and  a  part  of  the  mercury 
pressed  through  the  pores,  the  remaining  portion  is 
left  in  a  condition  approaching  the  consistency  of  but¬ 
ter,  and  in  a  fit  state  for  use.  Before  the  buttons  are 


THE  PI  N-M  AKER. 


229 


put  into  the  amalgam,  a  small  quantity  of  nitric  acid 
is  added. 

6.  The  buttons  having  been  covered  with  the  amal¬ 
gam,  as  before  stated,  the  mercury  is  discharged,  that 
the  gold  may  adhere  directly  to  the  brass.  This  ob¬ 
ject  is  effected  by  heating  the  buttons  in  an  iron  pan, 
until  the  amalgam  begins  to  melt,  when  they  are 
thrown  into  a  large  felt  cap,  and  stirred  with  a  brush. 
This  operation  is  repeated  several  times,  until  all  the 
mercury  has  been  volatilized.  The  whole  process 
is  finished  by  again  burnishing  them,  and  putting  them 
on  cards  for  sale. 

7.  White  metal  buttons  are  made  of  brass  alloyed 
with  different  proportions  of  tin.  They  are  cast,  ten 
or  twelve  dozens  at  a  time,  in  moulds  formed  in  sand, 
by  means  of  a  pattern.  The  shanks  are  placed  in 
the  centre  of  the  moulds,  so  that,  when  the  metal  is 
poured  in,  they  become  a  part  of  the  buttons.  The 
buttons  are  next  polished  in  a  lathe,  with  grindstone 
dust  and  oil,  rotten  stone  and  crocus  martis.  They 
are  then  boiled  with  a  quantity  of  grained  tin,  in  a  so¬ 
lution  of  crude  red  tartar  or  argol,  and  lastly,  finish¬ 
ed  with  finely-pulverized  crocus,  applied  with  buff 
leather. 

8.  Glass  buttons  are  made  of  various  colors,  in  im¬ 
itation  of  the  opal  and  other  precious  stones.  While 
manufacturing  them,  the  glass  is  kept  in  a  state  of  fu¬ 
sion,  and  a  portion  of  it  for  each  button  is  nipped  off 
out  of  the  crucible  with  a  metallic  mould,  somewhat 
similar  to  that  used  for  running  bullets,  the  workman 
having  previously  inserted  into  it  the  shank. 

THE  PIN-MAKER. 

1.  There  is  scarcely  any  commodity  cheaper  than 
pins,  and  none  which  passes  through  the  hands  of  a 
greater  number  of  workmen  in  the  manufacture,  twen¬ 
ty-five  persons  being  successively  employed  upon  the 

II.— U 


230 


THE  PI  N-M  AKER. 


material,  before  it  appears  in  these  useful  articles, 
ready  for  sale. 

2.  The  wire  having  been  reduced  to  the  required 
size,  is  cut  into  pieces  long  enough  to  make  six  pins. 
These  pieces  are  brought  to  a  point  at  each  end  by 
holding  them,  a  handful  at  a  time,  on  a  grindstone. 
This  part  of  the  operation  is  performed  with  great  ra¬ 
pidity,  as  a  boy  twelve  years  of  age  can  sharpen 
16,000  in  an  hour.  When  the  wires  have  been  thus 
pointed,  the  length  of  a  pin  is  taken  off  at  each  end, 
by  another  hand.  The  grinding  and  cutting  off  are 
repeated,  until  the  whole  length  has  been  used  up. 

3.  The  next  operation  is  that  of  forming  the  heads, 
or,  as  the  pin. makers  term  it,  head-spinning.  This  is 
done  with  a  spinning-wheel,  by  which  one  piece  of  wire 
is  wound  upon  another,  the  former,  by  this  means, 
being  formed  into  a  spiral  coil  similar  to  4;hat  of  the 
springs  formerly  used  in  elastic  suspenders.  The 
coiled  wire  is  cut  into  suitable  portions  with  the  shears, 
every  two  turns  of  it  being  designed  for  one  head. 
These  heads  are  fastened  to  the  lengths  by  means  of 
a  hammer,  which  is  put  in  motion  with  the  foot,  while 
the  hands  are  employed  in  taking  up,  adjusting,  and 
placing  the  parts  upon  the  anvil. 

4.  The  pins  are  now  finished,  as  to  their  form  ; 
but  still  they  are  merely  brass.  To  give  them  the  re¬ 
quisite  whiteness,  they  are  thrown  into  a  copper  ves¬ 
sel,  containing  a  solution  of  tin  and  the  lees  of  wine. 
After  a  while,  the  tin  leaves  the  liquid,  and  fastens  on 
the  pins,  which,  when  taken  out,  assume  a  white  ap¬ 
pearance.  They  are  next  polished  by  agitating  them 
with  a  quantity  of  bran  in  a  vessel  moved  in  a  rotary 
manner.  The  bran  is  separated  from  them,  as  chaff 
is  separated  from  wheat. 

5.  Pins  are  also  made  of  iron  wire,  and  colored 
black  by  a  varnish  composed  of  linseed  oil  and  lamp¬ 
black.  This  kind  is  designed  for  persons  in  mourn- 


THE  PIN-MAKER. 


231 


ing.  Pins  are  likewise  made  with  a  head  at  each  end, 
to  be  used  by  females  in  adjusting  the  hair  for  the 
night,  without  the  danger  of  pricking.  Several  ma¬ 
chines  have  been  invented  for  this  manufacture,  one  of 
which  makes  a  solid  head  from  the  body  of  the  pin  it¬ 
self  ;  but  the  method  just  described  still  continues  to 
be  the  prevailing  one. 

6.  Pins  are  made  of  various  sizes.  The  smallest 
are  called  minikins,  the  next,  short  whites.  The  lar¬ 
ger  kinds  are  numbered  from  three  to  twenty,  each 
size  increasing  one  half  from  three  to  five,  one  from 
five  to  fourteen,  and  two  from  fourteen  to  twenty. 
They  are  put  up  in  papers,  according  to  their  num¬ 
bers,  as  we  usually  see  them,  or  in  papers  containing 
all  sizes.  In  the  latter  case,  they  are  sold  by  weight. 

7.  It  is  difficult,  or  even  impossible,  to  trace  the 
origin  of  this  useful  little  article.  It  is  probable,  how¬ 
ever,  that  it  was  invented  in  France,  in  the  fifteenth 
century.  One  of  the  prohibitions  of  a  statute,  rela¬ 
ting  to  the  pin-makers  of  Paris  of  the  sixteenth  cen¬ 
tury,  forbid  any  manufacturer  to  open  more  than  one 
shop  for  the  sale  of  his  wares,  except  on  new-year’s 
day,  and  on  the  day  previous.  . 

8.  Hence  we  may  infer,  that'  it  was  customary  to 
give  pins  as  new-year’s  presents,  or  that  it  was  the 
usual  practice  to  make  the  chief  purchases  at  this 
time.  At  length  it  became  a  practice,  in  many  parts 
of  Europe,  for  the  husband  to  allow  to  his  wife  a  sum 
of  money  for  this  purpose.  We  see  here  the  origin 
of  the  phrase,  pin-money ,  which  is  now  applied  to  des¬ 
ignate  the  sum  allowed  to  the  wife  for  her  personal 
expenses  generally. 

9.  Prior  to  the  year  1443,  the  art  of  making  pins 
from  brass  wire  was  not  known  in  England.  Until 
that  period,  they  were  made  of  bone,  ivory,  or  box¬ 
wood.  Brass  pins  are  first  mentioned  in  the  English 
statute  book,  in  1483,  when  those  of  foreign  manufac¬ 
ture  were  prohibited 


232 


THE  PI  N-M  AKER. 


10.  Although  these  useful  implements  are  made  in 
London,  and  in  several  other  places  in  England,  yet 
Gloucester  is  the  principal  seat  of  this  manufacture  in 
that  kingdom.  It  was  introduced  into  that  place,  in 
1626,  by  John  Silsby,  and  it  now  contains  nine  dis¬ 
tinct  manufactories,  in  which  are  employed  about  1500 
persons,  chiefly  women  and  children.  Pins  are  also 
manufactured  extensively  in  the  villages  near  Paris, 
and  in  several  other  places  in  France,  as  well  as  in 
Germany. 

11.  The  business  of  making  pins  has  been  lately 

commenced  in  the  city  of  New-York,  and  it  is  said 
that  the  experiment  has  been  so  successful,  both  in  the 
perfection  of  the  workmanship,  and  in  the  rapidity  of 
the  production,  that  pins  of  American  manufacture  bid 
fair  to  compete,  at  least,  with  those  of  foreign  coun¬ 
tries.  r 


J 


THE  TINPLATE  WORKER,  &c. 

TIN. 

1.  Tin  is  a  whitish  metal,  less  elastic,  and  less 
sonorous  than  any  other  metal,  except  lead.  It  is  found 
in  the  mountains  which  separate  Gallicia  from  Portu¬ 
gal,  and  in  the  mountains  between  Saxony  and  Bohe¬ 
mia.  It  also  occurs  in  the  peninsula  of  Molucca,  in 
India,  Mexico,  and  Chili.  But  the  mines  of  Cornwall 
and  Devonshire,  in  England,  are  more  productive  than 
those  of  all  other  countries  united. 

2.  There  are  two  ores  of  tin,  one  of  which  is  called 
tin  stone ,  and  the  other  tin  pyrites ;  the  former  of  these 
is  the  kind  from  which  the  metal  is  extracted.  The 
ore  is  usually  found  in  veins,  which  often  penetrate 
the  hardest  rocks.  When  near  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  or  at  their  commencement,  they  are  very  small, 

U  2 


234 


T  I  N. 


but  they  increase  in  size,  as  they  penetrate  the  earth. 
The  direction  of  these  veins,  or,  as  the  miners  call 
them,  lodes ,  is  usually  east  and  west. 

3.  The  miners  follow  the  lode,  wheresoever  it  may 
lead  ;  and,  when  they  extend  to  such  a  depth,  that  the 
waters  become  troublesome  in  the  mine,  as  is  fre¬ 
quently  the  case,  they  are  pumped  up  with  machinery 
worked  by  steam,  or  drawn  off  by  means  of  a  drain, 
called  an  adit .  The  latter  method  is  generally  adopt¬ 
ed,  when  practicable. 

4.  The  ore  is  raised  to  the  surface  through  shafts, 
which  have  been  sunk  in  a  perpendicular  direction 
upon  the  vein.  At  the  top  of  the  shaft,  is  placed  a 
windlass,  to  draw  up  the  kibbuts,  or  baskets,  contain¬ 
ing  the  ore.  Near  St.  Austle,  in  Cornwall,  is  a  mine 
which  has  not  less  than  fifty  shafts,  half  of  which  are 
now  in  use.  Some  of  the  veins  have  been  worked  a 
full  mile,  and  some  of  the  shafts  are  nearly  seven 
hundred  feet  deep. 

5.  At  St.  Austle  Moor,  there  is  a  mine  of  stream 
tin,  about  three  miles  in  length.  The  tin,  together 
with  other  substances,  has  been  deposited  in  a  valley, 
by  means  of  small  streams  from  the  hills.  The  de- 
posite  is  about  twenty  feet  deep,  and  the  several  ma¬ 
terials  of  which  it  is  composed,  have  settled  in  strata, 
according  to  their  specific  gravity.  The  ore,  being 
the  heaviest,  is,  of  course,  found  at  the  bottom. 

6.  The  ore,  from  whatever  source  it  may  be  obtain¬ 
ed,  is  first  pulverized  in  a  stamping  mill,  and  then 
washed,  to  free  it  from  the  stony  matter  with  which  it 
may  be  united.  The  ore,  thus  partially  freed  from 
foreign  matter,  is  put  into  a  reverberatory  furnace, 
with  fuel  and  limestone,  and  heated  intensely.  The 
contents  of  the  furnace  having  been  brought  to  a  state 
of  fusion,  the  lime  unites  with  the  earthy  matters,  and 
flows  with  them  into  a  liquid  glass,  while  the  carbon 
of  the  coal  unites  with  the  tin.  The  metal  sinks,  by 


TIN. 


235 


its  specific  gravity,  to  the  bottom  of  the  furnace,  and 
is  let  out,  after  having  been  exposed  to  the  heat  about 
ten  hours. 

7.  The  tin  thus  obtained,  is  very  impure  ;  it  there¬ 
fore  requires  a  second  fusion,  to  render  it  fit  for  use. 
After  having  been  melted  a  second  time,  it  is  cast  into 
blocks  weighing  about  three  hundred  pounds.  These 
blocks  are  taken  to  places  designated  by  law,  and 
there  stamped,  by  inspectors  appointed  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  by  the  Duke  of  Cornwall.  In  performing  this 
operation,  the  inspector  cuts  off  a  corner,  and  stamps 
the  block  at  that  place,  with  the  proper  seal,  and  with 
the  name  of  the  smelter.  These  precautions  give 
assurance,  that  the  metal  is  pure,  and  that  the  duty 
has  been  paid. 

8.  The  duty  is  four  shillings  sterling  per  hundred 
weight,  which  is  paid  to  the  Duke  of  Cornwall,  who  is 
also  Prince  of  Wales.  The  revenue  from  this  source 
amounts  to  about  thirty  thousand  pounds  a  year.  The 
owner  of  the  soil  also  receives  one  sixth,  or  one  eighth 
of  the  ore  as  his  dish,  as  the  miners  call  it.  The  mi¬ 
ners  and  the  smelters  receive  certain  proportions  of 
the  metal  for  their  services. 

9.  Tin  was  procured  from  Britain  at  a  very  early 
period.  The  Phoenicians  are  said  by  Strabo  to  have 
passed  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  now  the  Straits  of  Gib¬ 
raltar,  about  1200  years  before  Christ.  But  the  time 
at  which  they  discovered  the  tin  islands,  which  they 
denominated  Cassorides,  cannot  be  ascertained  from 
history,  although  it  is  evident  from  many  circumstan¬ 
ces,  that  the  Scilly  Islands,  and  the  western  ports  of 
Britain,  were  the  places  from  which  these  early  navi¬ 
gators  procured  the  tin  with  which  they  supplied  the 
parts  of  the  world  to  which  they  traded. 

10.  For  a  long  time,  the  Phoenicians  and  the  Car¬ 
thaginians  enjoyed  the  tin  trade,  to  the  exclusion  of  all 
other  nations.  After  the  destruction  of  Carthage  by 


236 


T  I  N. 


the  Romans,  a  colony  of  Phocean  Greeks,  established 
at  Marseilles,  carried  on  this  trade  ;  but  it  came  into 
the  hands  of  the  Romans,  after  the  conquest  of  Britain 
by  Julius  Caesari 

11.  The  Cornish  mines  furnish  incontestable  proofs 
of  having  been  worked  many  hundred  years  ago.  In 
digging  to  the  depth  of  forty  or  fifty  fathoms,  the  mi¬ 
ners  frequently  meet  with  large  timbers  imbedded  in 
the  ore.  Tools  for  mining  have  also  been  found  in 
the  same,  or  similar  situations.  The  mines,  there¬ 
fore,  which  had  been  exhausted  of  the  ore,  have,  in 
the  course  of  time,  been  replenished  by  a  process  of 
nature. 

12.  To  what  purposes  the  ancients  applied  all  the  tin 
which  they  procured  at  so  much  labor  and  cost,  is  not 
precisely  known.  It  is  probable,  that  the  Tyrians 
consumed  a  portion  of  it,  in  dyeing  their  purple  and 
scarlet.  It  formed  then,  as  it  now  does,  many  im¬ 
portant  alloys  with  copper.  The  mirrors  of  antiqui¬ 
ty  were  made  of  a  composition  of  these  metals. 

13.  The  method  of  extracting  tin  from  its  ores  was 
probably  very  defective  in  ancient  times.  At  least,  it 
was  so  for  several  centuries  before  the  time  of  Eliza¬ 
beth,  when  Sir  Francis  Godolphin  introduced  great 
improvements  in  the  tin  works.  The  use  of  the  re¬ 
verberatory  furnace  was  commenced,  about  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  soon  after  pit-coal 
was  substituted  for  charcoal. 

14.  This  metal,  in  its  solid  state,  is  called  block-tin. 
It  is  applied,  without  any  admixture  with  any  other 
metal,  to  the  formation  of  vessels,  which  are  not  to 
be  exposed  to  a  temperature  much  above  that  of  hot 
water.  A  kind  of  ware,  called  biddery  ware ,  is  made 
of  tin  alloyed  with  a  little  copper.  The  vessels  made 
of  this  composition,  are  rendered  black  by  the  appli¬ 
cation  of  nitre,  common  salt,  and  sal  ammoniac. 
Foil  is  also  made  by  pressing  it  between  steel  rollers, 


4. 


tin.  237 

or  by  hammering  it,  as  in  the  case  of  gold  by  the  gold¬ 
beaters. 

15.  But  tin  is  most  extensively  applied  as  a  coating 
to  other  metals,  stronger  than  itself,  and  more  subject 
to  oxydation.  The  plates  which  lire  usually  denomi¬ 
nated  tin,  are  thin  sheets  of  iron  coated  with  this  met¬ 
al.  The  iron  is  reduced  t£>.  thin  plates  in  a  rolling- 
mill,  and  these  are  prepared  for  being  tinned,  by  first 
steeping  them  in  water  acidulated  with  muriatic  acid, 
and  then  freeing  them  from  oxyde  by  heating,  scaling, 
and  rolling  them. 

16.  The  tin  is  melted  in  deep  oblong  vessels,  and 
kept  in  a  state  of  fusion  by  a  charcoal  fire.  To  pre¬ 
serve  its  surface  from  oxydation,  a  quantity  of  fat  or 
oil  is  kept  floating  upon  it.  The  plates  are  dipped 
perpendicularly  into  the  tin,  and  held  there  for  some 
time.  When  withdrawn,  they  are  found  to  have  ac¬ 
quired  a  bright  coating  of  the  melted  metal.  The  dip¬ 
ping  is  performed  three  times  for  single  tin  plate,  and 
six  times  for  double  tinplate .  The  tin  penetrates  the 
iron,  and  forms  an  alloy. 

17.  Various  articles  of  iron,  such  as  spoons,  nails, 
bridle-bits,  and  small  chains,  are  coated  with  tin,  by 
immersing  them  in  that  metal,  while  in  a  state  of  fu¬ 
sion.  The  great  affinity  of  tin  and  copper,  renders 
it  practicable  to  apply  a  thin  layer  of  the  former  metal 
to  the  surface  of  the  latter  ;  and  this  is  often  done,  as 
stated  in  the  article  on  the  coppersmith. 

18.  Tin  and  quicksilver  are  applied  to  the  polished 
surface  of  glass,  for  the  purpose  of  forming  mirrors. 
In  silvering  plain  looking-glasses,  a  flat,  horizontal 
slab  is  used  as  a  table.  This  is  first  covered  with  pa¬ 
per,  and  then  with  a  sheet  of  tin  foil  of  the  size  of  the 
glass.  A  quantity  of  quicksilver  is  next  laid  on  the 
foil,  and  spread  over  it  with  a  roll  of  cloth,  or  with  a 
hare’s  foot. 

19.  After  as  much  quicksilver  as  the  surface  will 


238  THE  TIN-PLATE  WORKER. 


hold,  has  been  spread  on,  and  while  it  is  yet  in  a  fluid 
state,  the  glass  is  shoved  on  the  sheet  of  foil  from  the 
edge  of  the  table,  driving  a  part  of  the  liquid  metal 
before  it.  The  glass  is  then  placed  in  an  inclined  po¬ 
sition,  that  every  ifhnecessary  portion  of  the  quicksil¬ 
ver  may  be  drained  off,  after  which  it  is  again  laid  flat 
upon  the  slab,  and  pressed  for  a  considerable  time  with 
heavy  weights.  The  remaining  quicksilver  amalga¬ 
mates  with  the  tin,  and  forms  a  permanent,  reflecting 
surface. 

THE  TIN-PLATE  WORKER. 

1.  The  materials  on  which  the  tinner,  or  tin-plate 
worker,  operates,  are  the  rolled  sheets  of  iron,  coated 
with  tin,  as  just  described.  He  procures  the  sheets 
by  the  box,  and  applies  them  to  the  roofs  and  other 
parts  of  houses,  or  works  them  up  into  various  uten¬ 
sils,  such  as  pails,  pans,  bake-ovens,  measures,  cups, 
and  ducts  for  conveying  water  from  the  roofs  of  houses. 

2.  In  making  the  different  articles,  the  sheets  are 
cut  into  pieces  of  proper  size,  with  a  huge  pair  of 
shears,  and  these  are  brought  to  the  proposed  form  by 
different  tools,  adapted  to  the  purpose.  The  several 
parts  are  united  by  means  of  a  solder  made  of  a  com. 
position  of  tin  and  lead.  The  solder  is  melted,  and 
made  to  run  to  any  part,  at  the  will  of  the  workman, 
by  means  of  a  copper  instrument,  heated  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  in  a  small  furnace  with  a  charcoal  fire. 

3.  On  examining  almost  any  vessel  of  tin  ware,  it 
will  be  perceived,  that,  where  the  parts  are  united, 
one  of  the  edges,  at  least,  and  sometimes  both,  are 
turned,  that  the  solder  may  be  easily  and  advanta¬ 
geously  applied.  It  will  also  be  discovered  that  iron 
wire  is  applied  to  those  parts  requiring  more  strength 
than  is  possessed  by  the  tin  itself.  The  edges  and 
handles  are  especially  strengthened  in  this  manner.. 

4.  The  edges  of  the  tin  were  formerly  turned  on  a 


LEAD. 


239 


steel  edge,  or  a  kind  of  anvil  called  a  stock ,  with  a 
mallet ;  and,  in  some  cases,  this  method  is  still  pur¬ 
sued  ;  but  this  part  of  the  work  is  now  more  expedi¬ 
tiously  performed,  by  means  of  several  machines  in¬ 
vented  by  Seth  Peck,  of  Hartford  Co.,  Connecticut. 
These  machines  greatly  expedite  the  manufacture  of 
tin  wares,  and  have  contributed  much  towards  redu¬ 
cing  their  price. 

5.  This  manufacture  is  an  extensive  branch  of  our 
domestic  industry  ;  and  vast  quantities  of  tin,  in  the 
shape  of  various  utensils,  are  sold  in*  different  parts  of 
the  United  States,  by  a  class  of  itinerant  merchants, 
called  tin-pedlers,  who  receive  in  payment  for  their 
goods,  rags,  old  pewter,  brass,  and  copper,  together 
with  feathers,  hogs’  bristles,  and  sometimes  ready 
money. 

LEAD. 

1.  Next  to  iron,  lead  is  the  most  extensively  dif¬ 
fused,  and  the  most  abundant  metal.  It  is  found  in 
various  combinations  in  nature  ;  but  that  mineralized 
by  sulphur  is  the  most  abundant.  This  ore  is  denom¬ 
inated  galena  by  the  mineralogists,  and  is  the  kind 
from  which  nearly  all  the  lead  of  commerce  is  ex¬ 
tracted. 

2.  The  ore  having  been  powdered,  and  freed,  as  far 
as  possible,  from  stony  matter,  is  fused  either  in  a 
blast  or  reverberatory  furnace.  In  the  smelting,  lime 
is  used  as  a  flux,  and  this  combines  with  the  sulphur 
and  earthy  matters,  while  the  lead  unites  with  the  car¬ 
bon  of  the  fuel,  and  sinks  to  the  bottom  of  the  fur¬ 
nace,  whence  it  is  occasionally  let  out  into  a  reservoir. 

3.  Lead  extracted  from  galena,  often  contains  a 
sufficient  proportion  of  silver  to  render  it  an  object  to 
extract  it.  This  is  done  by  oxydizing  the  lead  by 
means  of  heat,  and  a  current  of  air.  At  the  end  of 
this  operation,  the  silver  remains  with  a  small  quan- 


240 


LEAD. 


tity  of  lead,  which  is  afterwards  separated  by  the  pro¬ 
cess  of  cupellation.  The  oxyde  is  applied  to  the  pur¬ 
poses  for  which  it  is  used,  or  it  is  reduced  again  to  a 
metallic  state. 

4.  The  lead  mines  on  the  Mississippi  are  very  pro¬ 
ductive,  and  very  extensive.  The  principal  mines  are 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Galena,  in  the  north-western 
part  of  Illinois,  and  these  are  the  richest  on  the  globe. 
The  lead  mines  in  the  vicinity  of  Potosi,  Missouri, 
are  also  very  productive.  About  3,000,000  pounds 
are  annually  smelted  in  the  United  States. 

5.  Lead,  on  account  of  its  easy  fusibility  and  soft¬ 
ness,  can  be  readily  applied  to  a  variety  of  purposes. 
It  is  cast  in  moulds,  to  form  weights,  bullets,  and  other 
small  articles.  Cisterns  are  lined,  and  roofs,  &c.. 

»  are  covered  with  sheet  lead ;  and  also  in  the  con* 
struction  of  pumps  and  aqueducts,  leaden  pipes  are 
considerably  used.  The  mechanic  who  applies  this 
metal  to  these  purposes,  is  called  a  plumber. 

6.  Lead  is  cast  into  sheets  in  sand,  on  large  tables 
having  a  high  ledge  on  each  side.  The  melted  lead 
is  poured  out  upon  the  surface  from  a  box,  which  is 
made  to  move  on  rollers  across  the  table,  and  is 
equalized,  by  passing  over  it  a  straight  piece  of  wood 
called  a  strike .  The  sheets  thus  formed,  are  after¬ 
wards  reduced  in  thickness,  and  spread  to  greater  di¬ 
mensions,  by  compressing  them  between  steel  rollers. 

7.  Leaden  pipes  may  be  made  in  various  ways. 
They  were  at  first  formed  of  sheet  lead,  bent  round  a 
cylindrical  bar,  or  mandrel,  and  then  soldered  ;  but 
pipes  formed  in  this  manner,  were  liable  to  crack  and 
break.  The  second  method  consists  in  casting  suc¬ 
cessive  portions  of  the  tube  in  a  cylindrical  mould, 
having  in  it  a  core.  As  soon  as  the  tube  gets  cold, 
it  is  drawn  nearly  out  of  the  mould,  and  more  lead  is 
poured  in,  which  unites  with  the  tube  previously  form- 


LEAD. 


241 


ed.  But  pipes  cast  in  this  way  are  found  to  have  im¬ 
perfections,  arising  from  flaws  and  air  bubbles. 

8.  In  the  third  method,  which  is  the  one  most  com¬ 
monly  practised,  a  thick  tube  of  lead  is  cast  upon  one 
end  of  a  long  polished  iron  cylinder,  or  mandrel,  of 
the  size  of  the  bore  of  the  intended  pipe.  The  lead 
is  then  reduced,  and  drawn  out  in  length,  either  by 
drawing  it  on  the  mandrel  through  circular  holes  of 
different  sizes,  in  a  steel  plate,  or  by  rolling  it  between 
contiguous  rollers,  which  have  a  semicircular  groove 
cut  round  the  circumference  of  each. 

9.  The  fourth  method  consists  in  forcing  melted 
lead,  by  means  of  a  pump,  into  one  end  of  a  mould, 
while  it  is  discharged  in  the  form  of  a  pipe,  at  the  op¬ 
posite  end.  Care  is  taken  so  to  regulate  the  temper¬ 
ature,  that  the  lead  is  chilled  just  before  it  leaves  the 
mould. 

10.  Shot  is  likewise  made  of  lead.  These  instru¬ 
ments  of  death  are  usually  cast  in  high  towers  con¬ 
structed  for  the  purpose.  The  lead  is  previously  al¬ 
loyed  with  a  small  portion  of  arsenic,  to  increase  the 
cohesion  of  its  particles,  and  to  cause  it  to  assume 
more  readily  the  globular  form.  It  is  melted  at  the 
top  of  the  tower,  and  poured  into  a  vessel  perforated 
at  the  bottom  with  a  great  number  of  holes. 

11.  The  lead,  after  running  through  these  perfo¬ 
rations,  immediately  separates  into  drops,  which  cool 
in  falling  through  the  height  of  the  tower.  They  are 
received  below  in  a  reservoir  of  water,  which  breaks 
the  fall.  The  shot  are  then  proved  by  rolling  them 
down  a  board  placed  in  an  inclined  position.  Those 
which  are  irregular  in  shape  roll  off  at  the  sides,  or 
stop,  while  the  spherical  ones  continue  on  to  the  end. 

II.— X  - 


THE  IRON-FO UNDER,  &c. 


IRON. 

1.  The  properties  which  iron  possesses  in  its  va¬ 
rious  forms,  render  it  the  most  useful  of  all  the  met¬ 
als.  The  toughness  of  malleable  iron  renders  it  ap¬ 
plicable  to  purposes,  where  great  strength  is  required, 
while  its  difficult  fusibility,  and  property  of  softening 
by  heat,  so  as  to  admit  of  forging  and  welding,  cause 
it  to  be  easily  wrought. 

2.  Cast  iron,  from  its  cheapness,  and  from  the  fa¬ 
cility  with  which  its  form  may  be  changed,  is  made 
the  material  of  numerous  structures.  Steel,  which  is 
the  most  important  compound  of  iron,  exceeds  all 
other  metals  in  hardness  and  tenacity ;  and  hence  it 
is  particularly  adapted  to  the  fabrication  of  cutting 
instruments. 


IRON. 


243 


3.  Iron  was  discovered,  and  applied  to  the  purpo¬ 
ses  of  the  arts,  at  a  very  early  period.  Tubal-Cain, 
who  was  the  seventh  generation  from  Adam,  “  was 
an  instructer  of  every  artificer  in  brass  and  iron.” 
Noah  must  have  used  much  of  this  metal  in  the  con¬ 
struction  of  the  ark,  and,  of  course,  he  must  have 
transmitted  a  knowledge  of  it  to  his  posterity. 

4.  Nevertheless,  the  mode  of  separating  it  from 
the  various  substances  with  which  it  is  usually  com¬ 
bined,  was  but  imperfectly  understood  by  the  an¬ 
cients  ;  and  their  use  of  it  was,  most  likely,  confined 
chiefly  to  the  limited  quantity  found  in  a  state  nearly 
pure.  Gold,  silver,  copper,  and  tin,  are  more  easily 
reduced  to  a  state  in  which  they  are  available  in  the 
arts.  They  were,  therefore,  often  used  in  ancient 
times,  for  purposes  to  which  iron  would  have  been 
more  applicable.  This  was  the  case  especially  with 
copper  and  tin. 

5.  Fifteen  distinct  kinds  of  iron  ore,  have  been  dis¬ 
covered  by  mineralogists  ;  but  of  these,  not  more  than 
four  have  been  employed  in  making  iron.  There  are, 
however,  several  varieties  of  the  latter  kind,  all  of 
which  are  classed  by  the  smelters  of  iron  under  the 
general  denomination  of  log  and  mountain  or  hard 
ores. 

6.  The  former  has  much  of  the  appearance  of  red, 
brown,  or  yellowish  earth,  and  is  found  in  beds  from 
one  to  six  feet  thick,  and  in  size  from  one  fourth  of  a 
rood  to  twenty  acres.  The  mountain,  or  hard  ore,  to 
a  superficial  observer,  differs  but  little  in  its  appear¬ 
ance  from  common  rocks  or  stones.  It  is  found  in 
regular  strata  in  hills  and  mountains,  or  in  detached 
masses  of  various  sizes,  and  in  hilly  land  from  two  to 
eight  feet  below  the  surface. 

7.  The  bog-ore  is  supposed  to  be  a  deposite  from 
water  which  has  passed  over  the  hard  ore.  This  is 
evidently  the  case  in  hilly  countries,  where  both  kinds 


244 


IRON. 


occur.  Some  iron-masters  use  the  bog ;  some,  the 
hard  ;  and  others,  both  kinds  together.  In  this  par¬ 
ticular,  they  are  governed  by  the  ore,  or  ores,  which 
may  exist  in  their  vicinity. 

8.  The  apparatus  in  which  the  ore  is  smelted,  is 
called  a  blast-furnace ,  which  is  a  large  pyramidal 
stack,  built  of  hewn  stone  or  brick,  from  twenty  to 
sixty  feet  in  height,  with  a  cavity  of  a  proportionate 
size.  In  shape,  this  cavity  is  near  that  of  an  egg, 
with  the  largest  end  at  the  bottom.  It  is  lined  with 
fire-brick  or  stone,  capable  of  resisting  an  intense 
heat. 

9.  Below  this  cavity  is  placed  the  hearth ,  which  is 
composed  of  four  or  five  large  coarse  sandstones, 
split  out  of  a  solid  rock,  and  chiselled  so  as  to  suit 
each  other  exactly.  These  form  a  cavity  for  the  re¬ 
ception  of  the  iron  and  dross,  when  melted  above. 
The  hearth  requires  to  be  removed  at  the  end  of  every 
blast ,  which  is  usually  continued  from  six  to  ten  months 
in  succession,  unless  accidentally  interrupted. 

10.  The  preparation  for  a  blast,  consists  principal¬ 
ly  in  providing  charcoal  and  ore.  The  wood  for  the 
former  is  cut  in  the  winter  and  spring,  and  charred 
and  brought  to  the  furnace  during  the  spring,  summer, 
and  autumn.  What  is  not  used  during  the  time  of 
hauling,  is  stocked  in  coal-houses,  provided  for  the 
purpose. 

11.  The  wood  is  charred  in  the  following  manner. 
It  is  first  piled  in  heaps  of  a  spherical  form,  and  cov¬ 
ered  with  leaves  and  dirt.  The  fire  is  applied  to  the 
wood,  at  the  top,  and  when  it  has  been  sufficiently 
ignited,  the  pit  is  covered  in ;  but,  to  support  com¬ 
bustion,  several  air-holes  are  left  near  the  ground. 
The  colliers  are  obliged  to  watch  the  pit  night  and 
day,  lest,  by  the  caving  in  of  the  dirt,  too  much  air 
be  admitted,  and  the  wood  be  thereby  consumed  to 
ashes. 


IRON. 


245 


12.  When  the  wood  has  been  reduced  to  charcoal, 
the  fire  is  partially  extinguished  by  closing  the  air¬ 
holes.  The  coals  are  drawn  from  the  pit  with  an 
iron. toothed  rake,  and,  while  this  is  performed,  the 
dust  mingles  with  them,  and  smothers  the  fire  which 
may  yet  remain.  Wood  is  also  charred  in  kilns  made 
of  brick. 

13.  The  hard  ore  is  dug  by  miners ,  or,  as  they  are 
commonly  denominated,  ore-diggers .  In  the  prosecu¬ 
tion  of  their  labor,  they  sometimes  follow  a  vein  into 
a  hill  or  mountain.  When  the  ore  is  found  in  strata 
or  lumps  near  the  surface,  they  dig  down  to  it.  ^his 
kind  of  ore  commonly  contains  sulphur  and  arsenic, 
and  to  free  it  from  those  substances,  and  to  render  it 
less  compact,  it  is  roasted  in  kilns,  with  refuse  char¬ 
coal,  which  is  too  fine  to  be  used  for  any  other  pur¬ 
pose.  It  is  then  broken  to  a  suitable  fineness  with  a 
hammer,  or  in  a  crushing  mill.  The  bog-ore  seldom 
needs  any  reduction. 

14.  Every  preparation  having  been  made,  the  fur¬ 
nace  is  gradually  heated  with  charcoal,  and  by  degrees 
filled  to  the  top,  when  a  small  quantity  of  the  ore  is 
thrown  on,  and  the  blast  is  applied  at  the  bottom  near 
the  hearth.  The  blast  is  supplied  by  means  of  one  or 
two  cylindrical  bellows,  the  piston  of  which  is  moved 
by  steam  or  water  power. 

15.  The  coal  is  measured  in  baskets,  holding  about 
one  bushel  and  a  half,  and  the  ore,  in  boxes  holding 
about  one  peck.  Six  baskets  of  coal,  and  as  many 
boxes  of  ore  as  the  furnace  can  carry,  is  called  a  half 
charge ,  which  is  renewed  as  it  may  be  necessary  to 
keep  the  furnace  full.  With  every  charge  is  also 
thrown  in  one  box  of  limestone. 

16.  The  limestone  is  used  as  a  flux,  to  aid  in  the 
fusion  of  the  ore,  and  to  separate  its  earthy  portions 
from  the  iron.  The  iron  sinks  by  its  specific  gravity, 
to  the  bottom  of  the  hearth,  and  the  earthy  portions, 

X  2 


246 


THE  I  R  0  N-F  OUNDER. 


now  converted  into  glass  by  the  action  of  the  lime¬ 
stone  and  heat,  also  sink,  and  float  upon  the  liquid 
iron.  This  scum,  or,  as  it  is  usually  called,  scoria, 
slag,  or  cinder,  is  occasionally  removed  by  instru¬ 
ments  made  for  the  purpose. 

17.  JVhen  the  hearth  has  become  full  of  iron,  the 
metal  is  let  out,  at  one  corner  of  it,  into  a  bed  of 
sand,  called  a  pig-bed,  which  is  from  twenty  to  thirty 
feet  in  length,  and  five  or  six  in  width.  One  concave 
channel,  called  the  sow,  extends  the  whole  length  of 
the  bed,  from  which  forty  or  fifty  smaller  ones,  called 
pig-moulds,  extend  at  right  angles.  The  metal,  when 
cast  in  these  moulds,  is  called  pig-iron,  and  the  masses 
of  iron,  pigs. 

18.  Pig-iron,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  crude 
iron ,  being  saturated  with  carbon  and  oxygen,  and 
containing  also  a  portion  of  scoria,  is  too  brittle  for 
any  other  purpose  than  castings.  Many  of  these, 
such  as  stoves,  grates,  mill. irons,  plough-irons,  and 
kitchen  utensils,  are  commonly  manufactured  at  blast 
furnaces,  and  in  many  cases  nearly  all  the  iron  is 
used  for  these  purposes.  In  such  cases,  the  metal  is 
taken  in  a  liquid  state,  from  the  hearth,  in  ladles. 

19.  In  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  perhaps  in 
some  other  parts  of  Europe,  iron-ore  is  smelted  with 
coke,  a  fuel  which  bears  the  same  relation  to  pit-coal, 
that  charcoal  does  to  wood.  It  is  obtained  by  heating 
or  baking  the  coal  in  a  sort  of  oven  or  kiln,  by  which 
it  becomes  charred.  During  the  process,  a  sort  of 
bituminous  tar  is  disengaged  from  it,  which  is  care¬ 
fully  preserved,  and  applied  to  many  useful  purposes. 

THE  IRON-FOUNDER. 

1.  The  appellation  of founder  is  given  to  the  super¬ 
intendent  of.  a  blast-furnace,  and  likewise  to  those 
persons  who  make  castings  either  of  iron  or  any 
other  metal.  In  every  case,  the  term  is  qualified  by 


THE  I  R  0  N-F  0  U  N  D  E  R.  247 

a  word  prefixed,  indicating  the  metal  in  which  he  oper¬ 
ates,  or  the  kind  of  castings  which  he  may  make  ;  as 
Jrass-founder,  iron- founder,  or  ie/Z-founder.  But  what 
soever  may  be  the  material  in  which  he  operates,  or 
the  kind  of  castings  which  he  may  produce,  his  work 
is  performed  on  the  same  general  principle. 

2.  The  sand  most  generally  employed  by  the  found¬ 
er  is  loam,  which  possesses  a  sufficient  proportion  of 
argillaceous  matter,  to  render  it  moderately  cohesive, 
when  damp.  The  moulds  are  formed  by  burying  in 
the  sand,  wooden  or  metallic  patterns,  having  the  ex¬ 
act  shape  of  the  respective  articles  to  be  cast.  To 
exemplify  the  general  manner  of  forming  moulds,  we 
will  explain  the  process  of  forming  one  for  the  spider, 
a  very  common  kitchen  utensil. 

3.  The  pattern  is  laid  upon  a  plain  board,  which  in 
this  application  is  called  a  follow  board,  and  surround¬ 
ed  with  a  frame  called  a  fask,  three  or  four  inches 
deep.  This  is  filled  with  sand,  and  consolidated  with 
rammers,  and  by  treading  it  with  the  feet.  Three 
wooden  patterns  for  the  legs  are  next  buried  in  the 
sand,  and  a  hole  is  made  for  pouring  in  the  metal. 

4.  One  side  of  the  mould  having  been  thus  formed, 
the  flask,  with  its  contents,  is  turned  over,  and,  the 
follow  board  having  been  removed,  another  flask  is 
applied  to  the  first,  and  filled  with  sand  in  the  same 
manner.  The  two  flasks  are  then  taken  apart,  and 
the  main  pattern,  together  with  those  for  the  legs,  re¬ 
moved.  The  whole  operation  is  finished  by  again 
closing  the  flasks. 

5.  The  mode  of  proceeding  in  forming  moulds  for 
different  articles,  is  varied,  of  course,  to  suit  their 
conformation.  The  pattern  is  often  composed  of  sev¬ 
eral  pieces,  and  the  number  and  form  of  the  flasks  are 
also  varied  accordingly.  Cannon-balls  are  sometimes 
cast  in  moulds  of  iron ;  and  to  prevent  the  melted 
metal  from  adhering  to  them,  the  inside  is  covered  with 
pulverized  black  lead. 


248 


THE  I  R  O  N-F  0  U  N  D  E  R. 


6.  Rollers  for  flattening  iron  are  also  cast  in  iron 
moulds.  This  method  is  called  chill-casting,  and  has 
for  its  object  the  hardening  of  the  surface  of  the  met¬ 
al,  by  the  sudden  reduction  of  the  temperature,  which 
takes  place  in  consequence  of  the  great  power  of  the 
mould,  as  a  conductor  of  heat.  These  rollers  are  af¬ 
terwards  turned  in  a  powerful  lathe. 

7.  Several  moulders  work  together  in  one  foundery  ; 
and,  when  they  have  completed  a  sufficient  number  of 
moulds,  they  fill  them  with  the  liquid  metal.  The 
metal  for  small  articles  is  dipped  from  the  hearth  or 
crucible  of  the  furnace  with  iron  ladles  defended  on 
every  side  with  a  thin  coating  of  clay  mortar,  and 
poured  thence  into  the  moulds.  But  in  casting  arti¬ 
cles  requiring  a  great  amount  of  iron,  such  as  cannon, 
and  some  parts  of  the  machinery  for  steam  engines, 
the  iron  is  transferred  to  the  moulds,  in  a  continued 
stream,  through  a  channel  leading  from  the  bottom  of 
the  crucible.  In  such  cases,  the  moulds  are  con¬ 
structed  in  a  pit  dug  in  the  earth  near  the  furnace. 
Large  ladles  full  of  iron  are,  in  some  founderies,  emp¬ 
tied  into  the  moulds  by  the  aid  of  huge  cranes. 

8.  Although  the  moulders  have  their  distinct  work 
to  perform,  yet  they  often  assist  each  other  in  lifting 
heavy  flasks,  and  in  all  cases,  in  filling  the  moulds. 
The  latter  operation  is  very  laborious  ;  but  the  exer¬ 
tion  is  continued  but  a  short  time,  since  the  moulds, 
constructed  during  a  whole  day,  can  be  filled  in  ten  or 
fifteen  minutes. 

9.  Iron-founderies  are  usually  located  in  or  near 
large  cities  or  towns,  and  are  supplied  with  crude  iron, 
or  pig  metal,  from  the  blast  furnaces  in  the  interior. 
The  metal  is  fused  either  with  charcoal  or  with  pit 
coal.  In  the  former  case,  an  artificial  blast  is  neces¬ 
sary  to  ignite  the  fuel ;  but  in  the  latter,  this  object  is 
often  effected  in  air  furnaces,  which  are  so  construct¬ 
ed  that  a  sufficient  current  of  air  is  obtained  directly 
from  the  atmos  here. 


THE  BAR  IRON  MAKER. 


249 


10.  The  practice  of  making  castings  of  iron  is  com- 
paratively  modern ;  those  of  the  ancients  were  made 
of  brass,  and  other  alloys  of  copper.  Until  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  the  last  century,  iron  was  but  little  applied 
in  this  way.  This  use  of  it,  however,  has  extended 
so  rapidly,  that  cast  iron  is  now  the  material  of  almost 
every  kind  of  machinery,  as  well  as  that  of  innumer¬ 
able  implements  of  common  application.  Even  bridg¬ 
es  and  rail-roads  have  been  constructed  of  cast  iron. 

THE  BAR  IRON  MAKER. 

1.  Bar-iron  is  manufactured  from  pig-iron,  from 
blooms ,  and  directly  from  the  ore  ;  the  process  is  con¬ 
sequently  varied  in  conformity  with  the  state  of  the 
material  on  which  it  is  commenced. 

2.  In  producing  bar-iron  from  pigs,  the  latter  are 
melted  in  a  furnace  similar  to  a  smith’s  forge,  with  a 
sloping  cavity  ten  or  twelve  inches  below,  where  the 
blast-pipe  is  admitted.  This  hearth  is  filled  with  char¬ 
coal  and  dross,  or  scoria  ;  and  upon  these  is  laid  the 
metal  and  more  coal.  After  the  coal  has  become  well 
ignited,  the  blast  is  applied.  The  iron  soon  begins  to 
melt,  and  as  it  liquefies,  it  runs  into  the  cavity  or 
hearth  below.  Here,  being  out  of  the  reach  of  the 
blast,  it  soon  becomes  solid. 

3.  It  is  then  taken  out,  and  fused  again  in  the  same 
manner,  and  afterwards  a  third  time.  After  the  third 
heat,  when  the  iron  has  become  solid  enough  to  bear 
beating,  it  is  slightly  hammered  with  a  sledge,  to  free 
it  from  the  adhering  scoria.  It  is  then  returned  to  the 
furnace ;  but,  being  placed  out  of  the  reach  of  the 
blast,  it  soon  becomes  sufficiently  compact  to  bear  the 
tilt-hammer . 

4.  With  this  instrument,  the  iron  is  beaten,  until 
the  mass  has  been  considerably  extended,  when  it  is 
cut  into  several  pieces,  which,  by  repeated  beating 
and  forging,  are  extended  into  bars,  as  we  see  them 


250 


THE  BAR  IRON  MAKER. 


for  sale.  The  tilt-hammer  weighs  from  six  to  twelve 
hundred  pounds,  and  is  most  commonly  moved  by  wa¬ 
ter  power. 

5.  For  manufacturing  bar-iron  directly  from  the 
ore,  the  furnace  is  similar  in  its  construction  to  the 
one  just  described,  and  the  operations  throughout  are 
very  similar.  A  fire  is  first  made  upon  the  hearth 
with  charcoal ;  and,  when  the  fuel  has  become  well 
ignited,  a  quantity  of  ore  is  thrown  upon  it,  and  the 
ore  and  the  fuel  are  renewed  as  occasion  may  require. 
As  the  iron  melts,  and  separates  from  the  earthy  por¬ 
tions  of  the  ore,  it  sinks  to  the  bottom  of  the  hearth. 
The  scoria  is  let  off  occasionally,  through  holes  made 
for  the  purpose.  When  iron  enough  has  accumula¬ 
ted  to  make  a  loop,  as  the  mass  is  called,  it  is  taken 
out,  and  forged  into  bars  under  the  tilt-hammer. 

6.  This  way  of  making  bar-iron  is  denominated 
the  method  of  the  Catalanforge ,  and  is  by  far  the  cheap¬ 
est  and  most  expeditious.  It  is  in  general  use  in  all 
the  southern  countries  of  Europe,  and  it  is  beginning 
to  be  extensively  practised  in  the  United  States. 
When  a  Catalan  forge  is  employed  in  making  blooms , 
it  is  called  a  bloomery. 

7.  The  blooms  are  about  eighteen  inches  long,  and 
four  in  diameter.  They  are  formed  under  the  tilt- 
hammer,  and  differ  in  substance  from  bar-iron  in  no¬ 
thing,  except  that,  having  been  imperfectly  forged,  the 
fibres  of  the  metal  are  not  fully  extended,  nor  firmly 
united.  The  blooms  are  manufactured  in  the  interior 
of  the  country,  where  wood  is  abundant,  and  sold  by 
the  ton,  frequently,  in  the  cities,  to  be  converted  into 
bar  or  sheet  iron. 

8.  These  blooms  are  converted  into  bar-iron,  by 
first  heating  them  in  an  air-furnace,  by  means  of  stone 
coal,  and  then  passing  them  between  chill  cast  iron 
rollers.  The  rollers  are  filled  with  grooves,  which 
gradually  decrease  in  size  from  one  side  to  the  other. 


THE  WIRE  DRAWER. 


25 1 


When  the  iron  has  passed  through  these,  the  bloom 
of  eighteen  inches  in  length,  has  become  extended  to 
nearly  as  many  feet.  The  bar  thus  formed,  having 
been  cut  into  four  pieces,  the  process  is  finished  by 
welding  them  together  laterally,  and  again  passing 
them  between  another  set  of  rollers,  by  which  they 
are  brought  to  the  form  in  which  they  are  to  remain. 

9.  Blooms  are  also  laminated  into  two  sheets,  on 
the  same  principle,  between  smooth  rollers,  which  are 
screwed  nearer  to  each  other  every  time  the  bloom  is 
passed  between  them.  Very  thin  plates,  like  those 
which  are  tinned  for  the  tin-plate  workers,  are  repeat¬ 
edly  doubled,  and  passed  between  the  rollers,  so  that 
in  the  thinnest  plates,  sixteen  thicknesses  are  rolled 
together,  oil  being  interposed  to  prevent  their  cohe¬ 
sion.  The  last  rollings  are  performed  while  the  metal 
is  cold. 

10.  Rolled  plates  of  iron  are  frequently  cut  into 
rods  and  narrow  strips.  This  operation  is  performed 
by  means  of  elevated  angular  rings  upon  rollers, 
which  are  so  situated  that  they  act  reciprocally  upon 
each  other,  and  cut  like  shears.  These  rings  are  sep¬ 
arately  made,  so  that  they  can  be  removed  for  the 
purpose  of  sharpening  them,  when  necessary.  The 
mills  in  which  the  operations  of  rolling  and  slitting 
iron  are  performed,  are  called  rolling  and  slitting 
mills. 

THE  WIRE  DRAWER. 

1.  Iron  is  reduced  to  the  form  of  wire  by  drawing 
rods  of  it  through  conical  holes  in  a  steel  plate.  To 
prepare  the  metal  for  the  operation  of  drawing,  it  is 
subjected  to  the  action  of  the  hammer,  or  to  that  of 
rollers,  until  it  has  been  reduced  to  a  rod  sufficiently 
small  to  be  forced  through  the  largest  hole.  The  best 
wire  is  produced  from  rods  formed  by  the  method  first 
mentioned. 


252  THE  STEEL  MANUFACTURER. 


2.  Various  machines  are  employed  to  overcome 
the  resistance  of  the  plate  to  the  passage  of  the  wire. 
In  general,  the  wire  is  held  by  pinchers,  near  the  end, 
and  as  fast  as  it  is  drawn  through  the  plate,  it  is 
wound  upon  a  roller,  by  the  action  of  a  wheel  and 
axle,  or  other  power.  Sometimes,  a  rack  and  pinion 
are  employed  for  this  purpose,  and  sometimes  a  lever, 
which  acts  at  intervals,  and  which  takes  fresh  hold  of 
the  wire  every  time  the  force  is  applied. 

3.  The  finer  kinds  of  wire  are  made  from  the  larger 
by  repeated  drawings,  each  of  which  is  performed 
through  a  smaller  hole  than  the  preceding.  As  the 
metal  becomes  stiff*  and  hard,  by  the  repetition  of  this 
process,  it  is  occasionally  annealed,  to  restore  its  duc¬ 
tility.  Wire  is  formed  of  other  metals  by  the  same 
general  method. 

THE  STEEL  MANUFACTURER. 

1.  Steel  is  a  compound  of  iron  and  carbon ;  and,  as 
there  are  several  methods  by  which  the  combination 
is  produced,  there  are  likewise  several  kinds  of  steel. 
The  best  steel  is  said  to  be  made  of  Swedish  or  Rus¬ 
sian  bari-ron. 

2.  The  most  common  method  of  forming  steel  is 
by  the  process  of  cementation .  The  operation  is  per¬ 
formed  in  a  conical  furnace,  in  which  are  two  large 
cases  or  troughs,  made  of  fire-brick,  or  good  fire 
stone ;  and  beneath  these  is  a  long  grate.  On  the 
bottom  of  the  cases  is  placed  a  layer  of  charcoal 
dust,  and  over  this  a  layer  of  bar-iron.  Alternate 
strata  of  these  materials  are  continued  to  a  consider¬ 
able  height,  ten  or  twelve  tons  of  iron  being  put  in  at 
once. 

3.  The  whole  is  covered  with  clay  or  sand,  to  ex. 
elude  the  air,  and  flues  are  carried  through  the  pile 
from  the  furnace  below,  so  as  to  heat  the  contents 
equally  and  completely.  The  fire  is  kindled  in  the 


THE  STEEL  MANUFACTURER.  253 

grate,  and  continued  for  eight  or  ten  days,  during 
which  time,  the  troughs,  with  their  contents,  are  kept 
red  hot.  The  progress  of  the  cementation  is  discov¬ 
ered  by  drawing  a  test  bar  from  an  aperture  in  the 
side. 

4.  When  the  conversion  of  the  iron  into  steel  ap¬ 
pears  to  be  complete,  the  fire  is  extinguished ;  and, 
after  having  been  suffered  to  cool  for  six  or  eight 
days,  it  is  removed.  Iron  combined  with  charcoal  in 
this  manner,  is  denominated  blistered  steely  from  the 
blisters  which  appear  on  its  surface,  and  in  this  state, 
it  is  much  used  for  common  purposes. 

5.  To  render  this  kind  of  steel  more  perfect,  the 
bars  are  heated  to  redness,  and  then  drawn  out  into 
bars  of  much  smaller  dimensions,  by  means  of  a  ham¬ 
mer  moved  by  water  or  steam  power.  This  instru¬ 
ment  is  called  a  tilting  hammer,  and  the  bars  formed 
by  it,  are  called  tilted  steel.  When  the  bars  have 
been  exposed  to  heat,  and  afterwards  doubled,  drawn 
out,  and  welded,  the  product  is  called  shear  steel. 

6.  But  steel  of  cementation,  however  carefully- 
made,  is  never  quite  equable  in  its  texture.  Steel 
possessing  this  latter  quality  is  made,  by  fusing  bars 
of  blistered  steel,  in  a  crucible  placed  in  a  wind  fur¬ 
nace.  When  the  fusion  has  been  completed,  the 
liquid  metal  is  cast  into  small  bars  or  ingots,  which 
are  known  in  commerce  by  the  name  of  cast  steel. 
Cast  steel  is  harder,  more  elastic,  closer  in  texture, 
and  capable  of  receiving  a  higher  polish  than  common 
steel. 

7.  Steel  is  also  made  directly  from  cast  iron,  or  at 
once  from  the  ore.  This  kind  is  called  natural  or 
German  steel,  and  is  much  inferior  to  that  obtained 
by  cementation.  The  best  steel,  produced  directly 
from  the  ore,  comes  from  Germany,  and  is  made  in 
Stiria.  It  is  usually  imported  in  barrels,  or  in  chests 
about  three  feet  long. 

II.— Y 


254  THE  STEEL  MANUFACTURER. 

8.  Steel  is  sometimes  alloyed  with  other  metals. 
A  celebrated  Indian  steel,  called  wootz,  is  supposed  to 
be  carbonated  iron,  combined  with  small  quantities 
of  silicium  and  aluminum.  Steel  alloyed  with  a  very 
small  proportion  of  silver,  is  superior  to  wootz,  or  to 
the  best  cast  steel.  Some  other  metals  are  also  used 
with  advantage  in  the  same  application. 

9.  Steel  was  discovered  at  a  very  early  period  of 
the  world,  for  aught  we  know,  long  before  the  flood. 
Pliny  informs  us,  that,  in  his  time,  the  best  steel  came 
from  China,  and  that  the  next  best  came  from  Parthia. 
A  manufactory  of  steel  existed  in  Sweden  as  early  as 
1340  of  the  Christian  era  :  but  it  is  generally  thought, 
that  the  process  of  converting  iron  into  steel  by 
cementation  originated  in  England,  at  a  later  period. 
The  method  of  making  cast  steel  was  invented  at 
Sheffield,  in  the  latter  country,  in  1750,  and,  for  a 
long  time,  it  was  kept  secret. 

10.  It  has  been  but  a  few  years,  since  this  manu¬ 
facture  was  commenced  in  the  United  Sates.  In 
1836,  we  had  fourteen  steel  furnaces,  viz. ;  at  Boston, 
one;  New-York,  three;  Troy,  one;  New-Jersey, 
two  ;  Philadelphia,  three  ;  York  Co.,  Pa.,  one  ;  Balti¬ 
more,  one ;  and  Pittsburg,  two.  These  furnaces  to¬ 
gether  are  said  to  be  capable  of  yielding  more  than 
1600  tons  of  steel  in  a  year.  The  American  steel  is 
employed  in  the  fabrication  of  agricultural  utensils, 
and  it  has  entirely  excluded  the  common  English 
blistered  steel. 


THE  BLACKSMITH,  AND  THE  NAILER. 

THE  BLACKSMITH. 

1.  The  blacksmith  operates  in  wrought  iron  and 
steel,  and,  from  these  materials,  he  fabricates  a  great 
variety  of  articles,  essential  to  domestic  convenience, 
and  to  the  arts  generally. 

2.  This  business  is  one  of  those  trades  essential  in 
the  rudest  state  of  society.  Even  the  American  In¬ 
dians  are  so  sensible  of  its  importance,  that  they  cause 
to  be  inserted  in  the  treaties  which  they  make  with  the 
United  States,  an  article  stipulating  for  a  blacksmith 
to  be  settled  among  them,  and  for  a  supply  of  iron. 

3.  The  utility  of  this  trade  will  be  further  manifest 
by  the  consideration,  that  almost  every  other  business 
is  carried  on  by  its  aid.  The  agriculturist  is  depend¬ 
ent  on  it  for  farming  utensils,  and  mechanics  and  art- 


256 


THE  BLACKSMITH. 


ists  of  every  description,  for  the  tools  with  which  they 
operate ;  in  short,  we  can  scarcely  fix  upon  a  single 
utensil,  vehicle,  or  instrument,  which  does  not  owe  its 
origin,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  to  the  blacksmith. 

4.  This  business  being  thus  extensive  in  its  appli¬ 
cation,  it  cannot  be  presumed  that  any  one  person  can 
be  capable  of  executing  every  species  of  work.  This, 
however,  is  not  necessary,  since  the  demand  for  par¬ 
ticular  articles  is  frequently  so  great,  that  the  whole 
attention  may  be  directed  to  the  multiplication  of  in¬ 
dividuals  of  the  same  kind.  Some  smiths  make  only 
anchors,  axes,  scythes,  hoes,  or  shovels. 

5.  In  such  cases,  the  workmen  acquire  great  skill 
and  expedition  in  the  manufacture.  A  tilt  hammer  is 
often  used  in  forging  large  masses  of  iron,  and  even 
in  making  utensils  as  small  as  the  hoe,  the  axe,  and 
the  sword  ;  but  the  hammer  which  may  be  employed 
bears  a  due  proportion  in  its  weight  to  the  mass  of 
iron  to  be  wrought.  In  all  cases  in  which  a  tilt  ham¬ 
mer  is  used,  the  bellows  from  which  the  blast  proceeds 
is  moved  by  water  or  steam  power. 

6.  In  the  shop  represented  at  the  head  of  this  article, 
sledges  and  hammers  are  used  as  forging  instruments, 
and  these  are  wielded  by  the  workmen  themselves. 
The  head  workman  has  hold  of  a  piece  of  iron  with 
a  pair  of  tongs,  and  he,  with  a  hammer,  and  two  others, 
with  each  a  sledge,  are  forging  it  upon  an  anvil.  The 
two  men  are  guided  in  their  disposition  of  the  strokes 
chiefly  by  the  hammer  of  the  master- workman. 

7.  In  ordinary  blacksmith  shops,  two  persons  com¬ 
monly  work  at  one  forge,  one  of  whom  takes  the  lead 
in  the  operations,  and  the  other  works  the  bellows, 
and  uses  the  sledge.  From  the  part  which  the  latter 
takes  in  the  labor,  he  is  called  the  blower  and  striker. 
A  man  or  youth,  who  understands  but  little  of  the 
business,  can,  in  many  cases,  act  in  this  capacity  tol¬ 
erably  well. 


THE  BLACKSMITH. 


257 


8.  The  iron  is  rendered  malleable  by  heating  it 
with  charcoal  or  with  stone  coal,  which  is  ignited  in¬ 
tensely  by  means  of  a  blast  from  a  bellows.  The  iron 
is  heated  more  or  less,  according  to  the  particular  ob¬ 
ject  of  the  workman.  When  he  wishes  to  reduce  it 
into  form,  he  raises  it  to  a  white  heat.  The  welding 
heat  is  less  intense,  and  is  used  when  two  pieces  are 
to  be  united  by  welding.  At  a  red  heat,  and  at  lower 
temperatures,  the  iron  is  rendered  more  compact  in 
its  internal  texture,  and  more  smooth  upon  its  surface. 

9.  The  joint  action  of  the  heat  and  air,  while  the 
temperature  is  rising,  tends  to  produce  a  rapid  oxyda- 
tion  of  the  surface.  This  result  is  measurably  pre¬ 
vented  by  immersing  the  iron  in  sand  and  common 
salt,  which,  uniting,  from  a  vitreous  coating  for  its 
protection.  This  coating  is  no  inconvenience  in  the 
forging,  as  its  fluidity  causes  it  to  escape  immediately 
under  the  action  of  the  hammer. 

10.  Steel  is  combined  with  iron  in  the  manufacture 
of  cutting  instruments,  and  other  implements,  as  well 
as  articles  requiring,  at  certain  parts,  a  great  degree 
of  hardness.  This  substance  possesses  the  remarka¬ 
ble  property  of  changing  its  degree  of  hardness  by  the 
influence  of  certain  degrees  of  temperature.  No  other 
substance  is  known  to  possess  this  property  ;  but  it  is 
the  peculiar  treatment  which-  it  receives  from  the 
workman  that  renders  it  available. 

11.  If  steel  is  heated  to  redness,  and  suddenly 
plunged  into  cold  water,  it  is  rendered  extremely  hard, 
but,  at  the  same  time,  too  brittle  for  use.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  it  is  suffered  to  cool  gradually,  it  becomes 
too  soft  and  ductile.  The  great  object  of  the  operator 
is  to  give  to  the  steel  a  quality  equally  distant  from 
brittleness  and  ductility.  The  treatment  by  which 
this  is  effected  is  called  tempering ,  which  will  be  more 
particularly  treated  in  the  article  on  the  cutler,  whose 
employment  is  a  refined  branch  of  this  business. 

Y  2 


258 


THE  NAILER. 


THE  NAILER. 

1.  Nail-making  constitutes  an  extensive  branch  of 
the  iron  business,  as  vast  quantities  of  nails  are  annu¬ 
ally  reuqired  by  all  civilized  communities.  They  are 
divided  into  two  classes,  the  names  of  which  indicate 
the  particular  manner  in  which  they  are  manufactu¬ 
red  ;  viz.,  wrought  nails  and  cut  nails, 

2.  The  former  are  usually  forged  on  the  anvil,  and 
when  a  finished  head  is  required,  as  is  commonly  the 
case,  it  is  hammered  on  the  larger  end,  after  it  has 
been  inserted  into  a  hole  of  an  instrument  formed  for 
the  purpose.  Workmen  by  practice  acquire  surpri¬ 
sing  dispatch  in  this  business ;  and  this  circumstance 
has  prevented  the  general  introduction  of  the  machines 
which  have  been  invented  for  making  nails  of  this  de¬ 
scription.  Wrought  nails  can  be  easily  distinguished 
from  cut  nails,  by  the  indentations  of  the  hammer 
which  have  been  left  upon  them. 

3.  In  making  cut  nails,  the  iron  is  first  brought  into 
bars  between  grooved  rollers.  The  size  of  the  bars 
is  varied  in  conformity  with  that  of  the  proposed  nails. 
These  bars  are  again  heated,  and  passed  between 
smooth  rollers,  which  soon  spread  them  into  thin 
strips  of  suitable  width  and  thickness.  These  strips, 
having  been  cut  into  pieces  two  or  three  feet  in  length, 
are  heated  to  a  red  heat  in  a  furnace,  to  be  immedi¬ 
ately  converted  into  nails,  when  designed  for  those  of 
a  large  size.  For  small  nails,  the  iron  does  not  re¬ 
quire  heating. 

4.  The  end  of  the  plate  is  presented  to  the  ma¬ 
chine  by  the  workman,  who  turns  the  material  over, 
first  one  way  and  then  the  other ;  and  at  each  turn  a 
nail  is  produced.  The  machine  has  a  rapid  recipro¬ 
cating  motion,  and  cuts  off,  at  every  stroke,  a  wedge¬ 
like  piece  of  iron,  constituting  a  nail  without  a  head. 
This  is  immediately  caught  near  the  head,  and  com- 


THE  NAILER. 


259 


pressed  between  gripes ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  a 
force  is  applied  to  a  die  at  the  end,  which  spreads  the 
iron  sufficiently  to  form  the  head.  From  one  to  two 
hundred  can  be  thus  formed  in  a  minute.  This  fact 
accounts  for  the  low  rate  at  which  cut  nails  are  now 
sold,  which,  on  an  average,  is  not  more  than  two 
cents  per  pound  above  that  of  bar  iron. 

5.  On  account  of  the  greater  expense  of  manufac¬ 
turing  wrought  nails,  they  are  sold  much  higher.  It 
is  said  that  nine-tenths  of  all  the  nails  of  this  kind, 
used  in  the  United  States,  are  imported  from  Europe. 
We  thus  depend  upon  foreign  countries  for  these  and 
many  other  articles,  because  they  can  be  imported 
cheaper  than  we  can  make  them  ;  and  this  circum¬ 
stance  arises  chiefly  from  the  difference  in  the  price 
of  labor. 

6.  The  first  machine  for  making  cut  nails  was  in¬ 
vented  in  Massachusetts  about  the  year  1816,  by  a 
Mr.  Odion,  and  soon  afterwards  another  was  contri¬ 
ved,  by  a  Mr.  Reed,  of  the  same  -state.  Other  ma¬ 
chines,  for  the  same  purpose,  have  likewise  been  con¬ 
structed  by  different  persons,  but  those  by  Odion  and 
Reed  are  most  commonly  used.  Before  these  ma¬ 
chines  were  introduced,  the  strips  of  iron  just  de¬ 
scribed,  were  cut  into  wedgelike  pieces  by  an  instru¬ 
ment  which  acted  on  the  principle  of  the  shears  ;  and 
these  were  afterwards  headed,  one  by  one,  with  a 
hammer  in  a  vice.  The  fact,  that  the  manufacture 
of  this  kind  of  nails  originated  in  our  country,  is  wor¬ 
thy  of  recollection. 

7.  In  1841,  Walter  Hunt,  of  New-York,  invented 
a  double  reciprocating  nail  engine,  which  is  owned 
by  the  New-York  Patent  Nail  Company.  This  ma¬ 
chine  works  with  surprising  rapidity,  it  being  capable 
of  cutting  five  or  six  hundred  ten-penny  nails  in  a 
minute.  One  hand  can  tend  three  engines,  as  he  has 
nothing  more  to  do  than  to  place  the  heated  plate  in 
a  perpendicular  position  in  the  machine. 


260 


THE  NAILER. 


8.  This  manufacture  includes,  also,  that  of  tacks 
and  spikes;  but  since,  in- the  production  of  these,  the 
same  general  methods  are  pursued,  they  need  no  par. 
ticular  notice.  The  different  sizes  of  tacks  are  dis¬ 
tinguished  by  a  method  which  indicates  the  number 
per  ounce  ;  as  two,  three,  or  four  hundred  per  ounce. 
Spikes  are  designated  by  their  length  in  inches,  and 
nails  by  the  terms,  two-penny,  three-penny,  four- 
penny,  ten-penny,  and  so  on  up  to  sixty-penny. 


THE  CUTLER. 

• 

1.  Under  the  head  of  cutlery,  is  comprehended  a 
great  variety  of  instruments  designed  for  cutting  and 
penetration,  and  the  business  of  fabricating  them  is 
divided  into  a  great  number  of  branches.  Some  man¬ 
ufacture  nothing  but  axes  ;  others  make  plane-irons 
and  chisels,  augers,  saws,  or  carvers’  tools.  Others, 
again,  make  smaller  instruments,  such  as  table-knives, 
forks,  pen-knives,  scissors,  and  razors.  There  are 
also  cutlers  who  manufacture  nothing  but  surgical 
instruments. 

2.  The  coarser  kinds  of  cutlery  are  made  of  blis¬ 
tered  steel  welded  to  iron.  Tools  of  a  better  quality 
are.  made  of  shear  steel,  while  the  sharpest  and  most 
delicate  instruments  are  formed  of  cast  steel.  The 
several  processes  constituting  this  business  may  be 
comprised  in  forging  tempering,  and  polishing  ;  and 


262 


THE  CUTLER. 


these  are  performed  in.  the  order  in  which  they  are 
here  mentioned. 

3.  The  general  method  of  forging  iron  and  steel, 
in  every  branch  of  this  business,  is  the  same  with  that 
used  in  the  common  blacksmith’s  shop,  for  more  or¬ 
dinary  purposes.  The  process,  however,  is  some¬ 
what  varied,  to  suit  the  particular  form  of  the  object 
to  be  fashioned  ;  for  example,  the  blades  and  some 
other  parts  of  the  scissors  are  formed  by  hammering 
the  steel  upon  indented  surfaces  called  bosses.  The 
bows,  which  receive  the  finger  and  thumb,  are  made 
by  first  punching  a  hole  in  the  metal,  and  then  en¬ 
larging  it  by  the  aid  of  a  tool  called  a  beak-iron. 

4.  The  steel,  after  having  been  forged,  is  soft,  like 
iron,  and  to  give  it  the  requisite  degree  of  strength 
under  the  uses  to  which  the  tools  or  instruments  are 
to  be  exposed,  it  is  hardened.  The  process  by  which 
this  is  effected  is  called  tempering ,  and  the  degree  of 
hardness  or  strength  to  which  the  steel  is  brought  is 
called  its  temper ,  which  is  required  to  be  higher  or 
lower ,  according  to  the  use  which  is  to  be  made  of 
the  particular  instrument. 

5.  In  giving  to  the  different  kinds  of  instruments 
the  requisite  temper,  they  are  first  heated  to  redness, 
and  then  plunged  into  cold  water.  This,  however, 
raises  the  temper  too  high,  and,  if  left  in  this  condi¬ 
tion,  they  would  be  too  brittle  for  use.  To  bring 
them  to  a  proper  state,  they  are  heated  to  a  less  de¬ 
gree  of  temperature,  and  again  plunged  into  cold  wa¬ 
ter.  The  degree  to  which  they  are  heated,  the  second 
time,  is  varied  according  to  the  hardness  required. 
That  this  particular  point  may  be  perfectly  under¬ 
stood,  a  few  examples  will  be  given. 

6.  Lancets  are  raised  to  430  degrees  Fahrenheit. 
The  temperature  is  indicated  by  a  pale  color,  slightly 
inclined  to  yellow.  At  450  degrees,  a  pale  straw-col¬ 
or  appears,  which  is  found  suitable  for  the  best  razors 
and  surgical  instruments.  At  470  degrees,  a  full  yel- 


THE  CUTLER. 


263 


or  is  produced,  which  is  suitable  for  pen-knives,  com¬ 
mon  razors,  &c.  At  490,  a  brown  color  appears, 
which  is  the  indication  of  a  temper  proper  for  shears, 
scissors,  garden  hoes,  and  chisels  intended  for  cutting 
cold  iron. 

7.  At  510  degrees,  the  brown  becomes  dappled  with 
purple  spots,  which  shows  the  proper  heat  for  temper¬ 
ing  axes,  common  chisels,  plane-irons,  &c.  At  530 
degrees,  a  purple  color  is  established,  and  this  temper¬ 
ature  is  proper  for  table-knives  and  large  shears. 
At  550  degrees,  a  bright  blue  appears,  which  is  prop¬ 
er  for  swords  and  watch  springs.  At  560  degrees, 
the  color  is  full  blue,  and  this  is  used  for  fine  saws, 
augers,  &c.  At  600  degrees,  a  dark  blue  approach¬ 
ing  to  black  settles  upon  the  metal,  and  this  produces 
the  softest  of  all  the  grades  of  temper,  which  is  used 
only  for  the  larger  kinds  of  saws. 

8.  Other  methods  of  determining  the  degree  of 
temperature  at  which  the  different  kinds  of  cutlery  are 
to  be  immersed,  a  second  time,  in  cold  water,  are  also 
practised.  By  one  method,  the  pieces  of  steel  are 
covered  with  tallow  or  oil,  or  put  into  a  vessel  con¬ 
taining  one  of  these  substances,  and  heated  over  a 
moderate  fire.  The  appearance  of  the  smoke  indi¬ 
cates  the  degree  of  heat  to  which  it  may  have  been 
raised.  A  more  accurate  method  is  found  in  the  em¬ 
ployment  of  a  fluid  medium,  the  temperature  of  which 
can  be  regulated  by  a  thermometer.  Thus  oil,  which 
boils  at  600  degrees,  may  be  employed  for  this  pur¬ 
pose,  at  any  degree  of  heat  which  is  below  that  number. 

9.  The  grinding  of  cutlery  is  effected  on  cylindri¬ 
cal  stones  of  various  kinds,  among  which  freestone  is 
the  most  common.  These  are  made  to  revolve  with 
prodigious  velocity,  by  means  of  machinery.  The 
operation  is  therefore  quickly  performed.  The  polish - 
ing  is  commonly  effected  by  using,  first,  a  wheel  of 
wood  ;  then,  one  of  pewter  and,  lastly,  one  covered 
with  buff  leather  sprinkled  with  an  impure  oxyde  of 


264 


THE  CUTLER. 


iron,  called  colcothar  o t  crocus .  The  edges  are  set 
either  with  hones  or  whetstones,  or  with  both,  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  degree  of  keenness  required. 

10.  Almost  every  description  of  cutlery  requires  a 
handle  of  some  sort ;  but  the  nature  of  the  materials, 
as  well  as  the  form  and  mode  of  application,  will  be 
readily  understood  by  a  little  attention  to  the  various 
articles  of  this  kind  which  daily  fall  in  our  way. 

11.  A  process  has  been  invented,  by  which  edge 
tools,  nails,  &c.,  made  of  cast  iron,  may  be  convert¬ 
ed  into  good  steel.  It  consists  in  stratifying  the  arti¬ 
cles  with  the  oxyde  of  iron,  in  a  metallic  cylinder,  and 
then  submitting  the  whole  to  a  regular  heat,  in  a  fur¬ 
nace  built  for  the  purpose.  This  kind  of  cutlery, 
however,  will  not  bear  a  very  fine  edge. 

12.  The  sword  and  the  knife  were  probably  the  first 
instruments  fabricated  from  iron,  and  they  still  con¬ 
tinue  to  be  leading  subjects  of  demand,  in  all  parts  of 
the  world.  The  most  celebrated  swords  of  antiquity 
were  made  at  Damascus,  in  Syria.  These  weapons 
never  broke  in  the  hardest  conflicts,  and  were  capable 
of  cutting  through  steel  armor  without  sustaining  in¬ 
jury. 

13.  The  fork,  as  applied  in  eating,  is  an  invention 
comparatively  modern.  It  appears  to  have  had  its 
origin  in  Italy,  probably  in  the  fourteenth  century ; 
but  it  was  not  introduced  into  England,  until  the  reign 
of  James  the  First,  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  seven¬ 
teenth.  Its  use  was,  at  first,  the  subject  of  much  rid¬ 
icule  and  opposition. 

14.  Before  the  introduction  of  the  fork,  a  piece  of 
paper,  or  something  in  place  of  it,  was  commonly 
wrapped  round  some  convenient  projection  of  the 
piece  to  be  carved  ;  and,  at  this  place,  the  operator 
placed  one  hand,  while  he  used  the  knife  with  the 
other.  The  carver  cut  the  mass  of  meat  into  slices 
or  suitable  portions,  and  laid  them  upon  the  large  slices 
of  bread  which  had  been  piled  up  near  the  platter,  or 


THE  CUTLER. 


265 


carving  dish,  and  which,  after  having  been  thus  served, 
were  handed  about  the  table,  as  we  now  distribute  the 
plates. 

15.  The  knives  used  at  table  were  pointed,  that  the 
food  might  be  taken  upon  them,  as  upon  a  fork  ;  and 
knives  of  the  same  shape  are  still  common  on  the  con¬ 
tinent  of  JEurope.  Round-topped  knives  were  not 
adopted  in  Paris,  until  after  the  banishment  of  Napo¬ 
leon  Bonaparte  to  Elba,  in  1815,  when  every  thing 
English  became  fashionable  in  that  city. 

16.  In  France,  before  the  revolution  of  1789,  it 
was  customary  for  every  gentleman,  when  invited  to 
dinner,  to  send  his  knife  and  fork  before  him  by  a  ser¬ 
vant  ;  or,  if  he  had  no  servant,  he  carried  them  him¬ 
self  in  his  breeches  pocket.  A  few  of  the  ancient 
regime  still  continue  the  old  custom.  The  peasant¬ 
ry  of  the  Tyrol,  and  of  some  parts  of  Germany  and 
Switzerland,  generally  carry  about  them  a  case,  con¬ 
taining  a  knife  and  fork,  and  a  spoon. 

17.  The  use  of  the  fork,  for  a  long  time,  was  con¬ 
sidered  so  great  a  luxury,  that  the  members  of  many 
of  the  monastic  orders  were  forbidden  to  indulge  in  it. 
The  Turks  and  Asiatics  use  no  forks,  even  to  this  day. 
The  Chinese  employ,  instead  of  this  instrument,  two 
small  sticks,  which  they  hold  in  the  same  hand,  be¬ 
tween  different  fingers. 

18.  The  manufacture  of  cutlery  is  carried  on  most 
extensively  in  England,  at  Birmingham,  Sheffield, 
Walsall,  Wolverhampton,  and  London.  London  cut¬ 
lery  has  the  reputation  of  being  the  best,  and  this  cir¬ 
cumstance  induces  the  dealers  in  that  city,  to  affix  the 
London  mark  to  articles  made  at  other  places.  In 
the  United  States,  there  are  many  establishments  for 
the  fabrication  of  the  coarser  kinds  of  cutlery,  such 
as  axes,  plane-irons,  saws,  hoes,  scythes,  &c.,  but  for 
the  finer  descriptions  of  cutting  instruments,  we  are 
chiefly  dependent  on  Europe. 

II.— Z 


THE  GUN-SMITH. 

1.  It  is  the  business  of  the  gun-smith  to  manufac¬ 
ture  fire-arms  of  the  smaller  sorts ;  such  as  muskets, 
fowling-pieces,  rifles,  and  pistols. 

2.  The  principal  parts  of  the  instruments  fabricated 
by  this  artificer,  are  the  barrel,  the  stock,  and  the 
lock.  In  performing  the  operations  connected  with 
this  business,  great  attention  is  paid  to  the  division  of 
labor,  especially  in  large  establishments,  such  as  those 
belonging  to  the  United  States,  at  Springfield  and 
Harper’s  Ferry ;  for  example,  one  set  of  workmen 
forge  the  barrels,  ramrods,  or  some  part  of  the  lock ; 
others  reduce  some  part  of  the  forged  material  to  the 
exact  form  required,  by  means  of  files ;  and  again 
another  class  of  operators  perform  some  part  of  the 
work  relating  to  the  stock. 


THE  G  U  N-S  M  I  T  II.  267 

3.  The  barrel  is  formed  by  forging  a  bar  of  iron 
into  a  flat  piece  of  proper  length  and  thickness,  and 
by  turning  the  plate  round  a  cylindrical  rod  of  tempered 
steel,  called  a  mandril ,  the  diameter  of  which  is  con¬ 
siderably  less  than  the  intended  bore  of  the  barrel. 
The  edges  of  the  plate  are  made  to  overlap  each 
other  about  half  an  inch,  and  are  welded  together  by 
heating  the  tube  in  lengths  of  two  or  three  inches  at 
a  time,  and  by  hammering  them  with  very  brisk,  but 
moderate  strokes,  upon  an  anvil  which  has  a  number 
of  semicircular  furrows  upon  it. 

4.  In  constructing  barrels  of  better  workmanship, 
the  iron  is  forged  in  smaller  pieces,  eight  or  nine 
inches  long,  and  welded  together  laterally,  as  well 
as  lengthwise.  The  barrel  is  now  finished  in  the 
usual  way  ;  or  it  is  first  made  to  undergo  the  additional 
operation  of  twisting ,  a  process  employed  upon  those 
intended  to  be  of  superior  quality.  The  operation  is 
performed  by  heating  small  portions  of  it  at  a  time, 
and  twisting  them  successively,  while  one  end  is  held 
fast. 

5.  The  barrel  is  next  bored  with  several  bits,  each 
a  little  larger  than  the  preceding  one.  The  last  bit  is 
precisely  the  size  of  the  intended  calibre.  After  the 
barrel  has  been  polished,  and  the  breech  closed  with 
a  screw,  its  strength  and  soundness  are  tested  by 
means  of  a  ball  of  the  proper  size,  and  a  charge  of 
powder  equal  in  weight  to  the  ball.  Pistol-barrels, 
which  are  to  go  in  pairs,  are  forged  in  one  piece, 
which  is  cut  asunder,  after  it  has  been  bored. 

6.  Barrels  for  rifles  are  much  thicker  than  those 
for  other  small-arms  ;  and,  in  addition  to  the  boring 
in  common  barrels,  they  are  furrowed  with  a  number 
of  grooves  or  rifles,  which  extend  from  one  end  of  the 
cavity  to  the  other,  either  in  a  straight  or  spiral  direc¬ 
tion.  These  rifles  are  supposed  to  prevent  the  rolling 


268 


THE  GUN-SMITH. 


of  the  ball  in  its  passage  out,  and  to  direct  it  more 
unerringly  to  the  object  of  aim. 

7.  The  stocks  are  commonly  manufactured  from 
the  wood  of  the  walnut-tree.  These  are  first  dressed 
in  a  rough  manner,  usually  in  the  country.  After  the 
wood  has  been  properly  seasoned,  they  are  finished 
by  workmen,  who  commonly  confine  their  attention 
to  this  particular  branch  of  the  business.  In  each  of 
the  United  States’  armories,  is  employed  a  machine 
with  which  the  stocks  are  turned,  and  also  one,  with 
which  the  place  for  the  lock  is  made, 

8.  The  several  pieces  composing  the  lock  are  forged 
on  anvils,  some  of  which  have  indented  surfaces,  the 
more  readily  to  give  the  proposed  form.  They  are 
reduced  somewhat  with  the  file,  and  polished  with 
substances  usually  employed  for  such  purposes.  The 
several  pieces  of  the  lock  having  been  put  together,  it 
is  fastened  to  the  stock  with  screws.  Other  particu¬ 
lars  in  regard  to  the  manufacture  of  small-arms  will 
be  readily  suggested  by  a  careful  inspection  of  the 
different  kinds,  which  are  frequently-  met  with. 

9.  The  period  at  which,  and  the  country  where, 
gunpowder  and  fire-arms  were  first  invented,  cannot 
be  certainly  determined.  Some  attribute  their  inven¬ 
tion  to  the  Chinese  ;  and,  in  confirmation  of  this  opin¬ 
ion,  assert  that  there  are  now  cannon  in  China,  which 
were  made  in  the  eightieth  year  of  the  Christian  era. 
On  this  supposition,  their  use  was  gradually  extended 
to  the  West,  until  they  were  finally  adopted  in  Europe, 
in  the  fourteenth  century. 

10.  Others,  however,  attribute  the  invention  of  gun¬ 
powder  to  Berthold  Schwartz,  a  monk,  who  lived  at 
Mentz,  between  the  years  1290  and  1320.  It  is  said, 
that  in  some  of  his  alchemistic  experiments,  he  put 
some  saUpetre,  sulphur,  and  charcoal,  into  a  mortar, 
and  having  accidentally  dropped  into  it  a  spark  of 
fire,  the  contents  exploded,  and  threw  the  pestle  into 


THE  GUN-SMITH. 


269 


the  air.  This  circumstance  suggested  to  his  mind 
the  employment  of  the  mixture  for  throwing  projec¬ 
tiles.  Some  traditions,  however,  attribute  the  inven¬ 
tion  to  Constantine  Antlitz,  of  Cologne. 

11.  The  fire-arms  first  used  in  Europe  were  can¬ 
non,  and  these  were  originally  made  of  wood,  wrapped 
in  numerous  folds  of  linen,  and  well  secured  with 
iron  hoops.  They  were  conical  in  shape,  being  widest 
at  the  muzzle ;  but  this  form  was  soon  changed  for 
the  cylindrical.  At  length  they  were  made  of  bars 
of  iron,  firmly  bound  together  with  hoops  of  the  same 
metal.  In  the  second  half  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
a  composition  of  copper  and  tin,  which  was  brought 
to  form  by  casting  in  sand,  came  into  use. 

12.  Cannon  were  formerly  dignified  with  great 
names.  Charles  V.  of  Spain  had  twelve,  which  he 
called  after  the  twelve  apostles.  One  at  Bois-le-Duc 
is  called  the  devil ;  a  sixty-pounder,  at  Dover  Castle, 
is  called  Queen  Elizabeth’s  pocket-pistol ;  an  eighty- 
pounder,  at  Berlin,  is  called  the  thunder er  ;  two  sixty- 
pounders,  at  Bremen,  the  messengers  of  bad  news. 
But  cannon  are,  at  present,  denominated  from  the 
weight  of  the  balls  which  they  carry ;  as  six-pound¬ 
ers,  eight-pounders,  &c. 

13.  Fire-arms  of  a  portable  size  were  invented, 
about  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The 
musket  was  the  first  of  this  class  of  instruments  that 
appeared,  and  the  Spanish  nation,  the  first  that  adopt¬ 
ed  its  use  as  a  military  weapon.  It  was  originally 
very  heavy,  and  could  not  be  well  supported  in  a 
horizontal  position  without  a  rest.  The  soldiers,  on 
their  march,  carried  only  the  rest  and  ammunition, 
while  each  was  followed  by  a  youth  who  bore  the 
musket. 

14.  The  powder  was  not  ignited  with  a  spark  from 
a  flint,  but  with  a  match.  Afterwards,  a  lighter 
match-lock  musket  was  introduced,  which  was  car. 

Z  2 


270 


THE  GUN-SMITH. 


ried  by  the  soldiers  themselves.  The  rest,  however, 
maintained  its  ground,  until  about  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  The  troops  throughout  Europe 
were  furnished  with  fire-locks,  such  as  are  now  used, 
a  little  before  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  cen¬ 
tury. 

15.  The  bayonet  was  invented,  about  the  year 
1640,  at  Bayonne  ;  but  it  was  not  generally  introdu¬ 
ced,  until  the  pike  was  entirely  discontinued,  about 
sixty  years  afterwards.  It  was  first  carried  by  the 
side,  and  was  used  as  a  dagger  in  close  fight ;  but,  in 
1690,  the  custom  of  fastening  it  to  the  muzzle  of  the 
fire-lock  was  commenced  in  France,  and  the  example 
was  soon  followed  throughout  Europe. 

16.  Gunpowder,  on  which  the  use  of  fire-arms  de¬ 
pends,  is  a  composition  of  salt-petre,  sulphur,  and 
charcoal.  The  proportion  of  the  ingredients  is  va¬ 
ried  considerably  in  different  countries,  and  by  differ¬ 
ent  manufacturers  in  the  same  country.  But  good 
gunpowder  may  be  made  of  seventy-six  parts  of  salt¬ 
petre,  fifteen  of  charcoal,  and  nine  of  sulphur.  These 
materials  are  first  reduced  to  a  fine  powder  separate¬ 
ly,  and  then  formed  into  a  homogeneous  mass  by 
moistening  the  mixture  with  water,  and  pounding  it 
for  a  considerable  time  in  wooden  mortars. 

17.  After  the  paste  has  been  suffered  to  dry  a  little, 
it  is  forced  through  a  kind  of  sieve.  By  this  process 
it  is  divided  into  grains,  the  size  of  which  depends 
upon  that  of  the  holes  through  which  they  have  been 
passed.  The  powder  is  then  dried  in  ovens,  and  af¬ 
terwards  put  into  barrels,  which  are  made  to  revolve 
on  their  axis.  The  friction  produced  by  this  motion 
destroys  the  asperities  of  the  grains,  and  renders  their 
surfaces  smooth  and  capable  of  easy  ignition. 


THE  VETERINARY  SURGEON. 

1.  The  horse,  as  well  as  the  other  domestic  ani¬ 
mals,  is  subject  to  a  great  variety  of  diseases,  which, 
like  those  affecting  the  human  system,  are  frequently 
under  the  control  of  medicinal  remedies ;  and  the 
same  general  means  which  are  efficacious  in  healing 
the  disorders  of  our  race,  are  equally  so  in  controlling 
those  of  the  inferior  part  of  the  animal  creation. 

2.  The  great  value  of  the  domestic  animals  has  ren¬ 
dered  them,  from  the  earliest  periods,  the  objects  of 
study  and  attention,  not  only  while  in  health,  but  also 
when  laboring  under  disease.  For  the  latter  state,  a 
peculiar  system  was  early  formed,  including  a  materia 
medica,  and  a  general  mode  of  treatment  considerably 
different  from  those  for  human  patients. 

3.  Of  the  authors  of  this  system,  whether  Greek  or 


272  THE  VETERINARY  SURGEON. 


Roman,  nothing  worthy  of  notice  has  been  transmit¬ 
ted  to  us,  beyond  an  oceasional  citation  of  names,  in 
the  works  of  Columella,  a  Roman  writer,  who  flour¬ 
ished  in  the  reign  of  Tiberius  Csesar,  and  in  Vegetius 
Renatus,  who  lived  two  centuries  afterwards.  The 
former  treated  at  large  on  the  general  management 
of  domestic  animals,  and  the  latter  more  professedly 
on  the  diseases  to  which  they  are  liable. 

4.  Both  of  these  writers  treated  their  subject  in  el¬ 
egant  classical  Latin  ;  but  neither  they  nor  any  other 
ancient  author  whose  works  have  reached  us,  had  any 
professional  acquaintance  with  medicine  or  surgery. 
Celsus  is  the  only  physician  of  those  times  who  is 
said  to  have  written  on  animal  medicine  ;  but  this 
part  of  his  works  is  not.  extant. 

5.  Xenophon  is  the  oldest  veterinary  writer  whose 
work  remains  ;  but  his  treatise  is  confined  to  the  train¬ 
ing  and  management  of  the  horse  for  war  and  the 
chase.  The  chief  merit  of  the  ancient  writers  on  this 
subject  consists  in  the  dietetic  rules  and  domestic 
management  which  they  propose.  Their  medical 
prescriptions  are  said  to  be  an  inconsistent  and  often 
discordant  jumble  of  many  articles,  devoid  of  rational 
aim  or  probable  efficacy. 

6.  On  the  revival  of  learning  in  Europe,  when  the 
anatomy  and  physiology  of- the  human  body  had  be¬ 
come  grand  objects  of  research  in  the  Italian  schools, 
veterinary  anatomy  attracted  the  attention  of  Ruini 
and  others,  whose  descriptive  labors  on  the  body  of 
the  horse  have  since  served  for  the  ground-work  and 
model  to  all  the  schools  in  Europe. 

7.  The  works  of  the  veterinary  writers  of  antiquity 
were  eagerly  sought  and  translated  in  Italy  and  France, 
and  the  art  was  extensively  cultivated,  sometimes  un¬ 
der  regular  medical  professors.  Every  branch  of  the 
equine  economy  was  pursued  with  assiduity  and  suc¬ 
cess,  whether  it  related  to  harness  and  trappings,  equi- 


THE  VETERINARY  SURGEON.  273 


tation  and  military  menage,  or  the  methodical  treat¬ 
ment  of  the  hoof,  and  the  invention  of  various  kinds  of 
iron  shoes.  Evangelista  of  Milan  distinguished  him¬ 
self  in  the  education  or  breaking  of  the  horse  ;  and  to 
him  is  attributed  the  invention  of  the  martingale. 

8.  The  new  science  having  been  extended  over  a 
great  proportion  of  the  continent  of  Europe,  could 
scarcely  fail  of  occasional  communication  with  Eng¬ 
land  ;  nevertheless,  the  medical  treatment  of  horses 
and  other  domestic  animals  continued  exclusively  in 
the  hands  of  farriers  and  cow-doctors,  until  some  time 
in  the  first  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

9.  At  this  period,  that  branch  of  this  art  which  re¬ 
lates  to  the  medical  and  surgical  treatment  of  the 
horse,  attracted  the  attention  of  William  Gibson,  who 
had  acted  in  the  capacity  of  army  surgeon  in  the  wars 
of  Queen  Anne.  He  was  the  first  author  of  the  reg¬ 
ular  medical  profession,  in  England,  who  attempted 
to  improve  veterinary  science  ;  and  the  publication  of 
his  work  forms  an  era  in  its  annals,  since  his  work 
became,  and  has  continued  to  the  present  day,  the 
basis  of  the  superior  practice  of  the  English. 

10.  The  eighteenth  century  was  abundantly  fruitful 
in  veterinary  pursuits  and  publications.  France  took 
the  lead ;  but  a  zeal  for  this  branch  of  science  perva¬ 
ded  Germany  and  the  states  north  of  that  part  of  Eu¬ 
rope,  and  colleges  were  established  in  various  coun¬ 
tries,  with  the  express  view  of  cultivating  this  branch 
of  the  medical  art.  It  is  said  that  the  French  have 
improved  the  anatomical  and  surgical  branches  of  the 
art,  and  the  English,  those  which  relate  to  the  applica¬ 
tion  of  medicines. 

11.  The  first  veterinary  school  was  instituted  at 
Lyons,  in  1762.  Another  was  established  at  Alfort, 
in  1766.  A  similar  institution  was  opened  at  Berlin, 
in  1792,  and  in  the  same  year,  one  at  St.  Pancras, 
near  London.  In  these  colleges,  lectures  are  given, 


274  THE  VETERINARY  SURGEON. 

and  degrees  conferred.  In  the  diplomas,  the  graduate 
is  denominated  veterinary  surgeon.  A  great  number 
of  these  surgeons  have  been  dispersed  in  the  armies 
of  Europe,  as  well  as  through  the  different  countries, 
where  they  have  been  employed  in  the  medical  and 
surgical  treatment  of  diseased  animals,  to  the  great 
advantage  of  their  owners. 

12.  From  the  preceding  account,  it  is  evident,  that 
the  light  of  science  has  shone  conspicuously,  in  Eu¬ 
rope,  on  the  domestic  animals,  in  relation  to  their 
treatment,  both  while  in  health,  and  when  laboring 
under  disease.  In  the  United  States,  we  have  no  in¬ 
stitution  for  the  cultivation  of  this  branch  of  knowl¬ 
edge.  The  press,  however,  has  been  prolific  in  the 
production  of  works  treating  on  the  various  branches 
of  the  veterinary  art ;  and  many  persons,  by  their 
aid,  have  rendered  themselves  competent  to  adminis¬ 
ter  to  animals  in  cases  of  disease,  in  a  rational  man¬ 
ner. 

13.  Nevertheless,  the  practice  of  animal  medicine 
is  confined  chiefly  to  illiterate  men,  who,  from  their 
laborious  habits,  or  from  other  causes,  have  not  attain¬ 
ed  to  that  degree  of  information  on  animal  diseases, 
and  the  general  effects  of  medicine,  that  might  enable 
them  to  prescribe  their  remedies  on  scientific  princi¬ 
ples.  But  this  state  of  things  is  not  peculiar  to  our 
country ;  for,  notwithstanding  the  laudable  efforts  of 
enlightened  men  in  Europe,  the  blacksmiths  form  a 
vast  majority  of  the  horse- surgeons’  and  physicians  in 
every  part  of  it ;  and  the  medical  treatment  of  the 
other  domestic  animals  is  commonly  intrusted  to  per¬ 
sons  who  are  still  more  incompetent. 

14.  The  attention  of  blacksmiths  was  very  early 
turned  to  the  diseases  of  the  horse,  from  the  practice 
of  supplying  him  with  shoes.  The  morbid  affections 
of  the  foot  were  probably  the  first  which  attracted  their 
notice  ;  and  descanting  upon  these  induced  the  general 


THE  VETERINARY  SURGEON.  275 

belief,  that  they  understood  every  other  disease  which 
might  affect  the  animal. 

15.  These  men,  as  artificers  in  iron,  were  orginally 
termed  ferrers  or  ferriers,  from  the  Latin  word  ferrum, 
iron  ;  and  their  craft,  ferriery.  These  terms,  by  a 
usual  corruption  or  improvement  in  language,  have 
been  changed  to  farrier  and  farriery,  both  of  which 
still  remain  in  general  use,  the  former  as  applied  to 
persons  who  shoe  horses  and  administer  to  them  med¬ 
icines  and  surgical  remedies,  and  the  latter  to  the  art 
itself,  by  which  they  are,  or  ought  to  be,  guided. 

16.  The  appellation  of  veterinary  surgeon  is  appli¬ 
cable  to  persons  who  have  received  a  diploma  from 
some  veterinary  college,  or  who  have,  at  least,  studied 
animal  medicine  scientifically.  There  are  a  few  such 
individuals  in  the  United  States ;  and  the  great  value 
of  the  domestic  animals,  and  the  general  increase  of 
knowledge,  certainly  justify  the  expectation,  that  their 
number  will  increase. 


THE  END. 


CATALOGUE  OF  BOOKS. 


1 


Harper  &  Brothers,  82  Cliff-street,  New-York, 
have  just  issued  a  new  and  complete  catalogue  of 
their  publications,  which  will  be  forwarded,  without 
charge,  to  any  part  of  the  United  States,  upon  appli¬ 
cation  to  them  personally  or  by  mail  post  paid.  In 
this  catalogue  may  be  found  over  one  thousand  vol¬ 
umes,  embracing  every  branch  of  literature,  standard 
and  imaginative.  The  attention  of  persons  forming 
libraries,  either  private  or  public,  is  particularly  di¬ 
rected  to  the  great  number  of  valuable  standard  his¬ 
torical  and  miscellaneous  works  comprised  in  the 
list,  among  which  are  the  following : 

The  Family  Library  (each  work  is  sold 


separately)  contains . 153  vols. 

The  Classical  Library . .  .  36  vols. 

The  School  District  Library .  200  vols.. 

Boys’  and  Girls’  Library . 32  vols. 

Mrs.  Sherwood’s  Works . 15  vols. 

Miss  Edgeworth’s  Works  ......  15  vols. 

Sparks’s  American  Biography  ....  10  vols. 

Hannah  More’s  Works . 6  vols. 

Shakspeare’s  Works  .......  6  vols. 


V  u 


% 

'v; 


GETTY  CENTER  LIBRARY 


3  3125  00140 


9164 


